


You Might Get a Raindrop In Your Eye

by Ya_Boi_Hal



Series: March to the Rising Sea [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (eventually) - Freeform, M/M, Plot!, Tsukki and Ukai's mom could be bffs and that is something i would kill to see, anyone who doesn't like flooding or water probably shouldnt read this, because that's literally the plot, but first!, don't worry the romance will be there, i think Tsukishima could get along really well with older people in general, it's flooding with a side of gay, oh boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-08-24 15:57:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8378353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ya_Boi_Hal/pseuds/Ya_Boi_Hal
Summary: When it rains, it pours and the water just keeps rising. Or: The Karasuno Volleyball team just wanted to have morning practice, not be stuck in flash flooding and a thunderstorm. And where is Coach Ukai and Tsukishima? (Hint: They're stuck somewhere outside of fucking course)





	1. There's miles of land in front of us (Hinata)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is AO3 and welcome to my crib! *points at a trash can*  
> Please enjoy my shitty work! :)

A drop of rain slid beneath Hinata’s shirt collar making his pedaling momentarily stutter and bike slightly swerve. Holy shit that was cold. Quickening his pace, he biked even quicker to the gym wanting to be at practice even more than before. It was going to rain, that was sure. Large black clouds filled the morning sky with imposing rumbles spilling out with the occasional rain droplet. It was more annoying than worrying, as his only concern was making it to practice before the downpour caught him.

Finally gliding down the last hill, he could see the school. Quickly making his way to the bike rack, he noticed the lack of light. He looked up. The dark clouds clustered closer, blocking out the sun. It was going to be a big storm.

“Oi, you ready?” Kageyama swept to the bike rack, sipping a box of milk.

“Heck yeah!” Hinata exclaimed, quickly chaining his bike up. They could worry about it later, for now, they had practice. Kageyama dumped his empty carton and led the way to the club room. Then quickly changed and when they finally arrived in the gym, several of their teammates had already started to stretch.

“Ah! You all made it!” Suga called, catching the ball he was about to set to Asahi. Asahi stumbled mid leap and awkwardly landed mid-leap. “There’s supposed to be a bad storm! I’m surprised it hasn’t started to rain yet!”

“Have you two seen Tsukki?” Yamaguchi butted in, looking out the door behind them as if Tsukishima would appear behind them. Hinata and Kageyama shook their heads. Didn’t Yamaguchi walk to school with him? “Oh. Okay. I had to leave early to talk to a teacher and Tsukki was supposed to walk to school by himself but he should have made it by now…” Suga clapped Yamaguchi on the back with a reassuring smile.

“I’m sure he’s fine. Practice still hasn’t started yet and he’s never been late yet!” Yamaguchi hummed in agreement, a thin frown still on his face. Hinata looked around to see who had made it. All of the third years, the managers, and Narita had made it. Hinata felt a pang of sympathy for Nartia, who was stretching by himself, waiting for the other second years to arrive. Other than that, the coaches and the other players were still absent. A large crash of thunder outside the doors made everyone flinch. The power flickered.

“I think it’s about to start raining...” Kiyoko muttered to Yachi who was shaking slightly. Hinata felt the hair on the back of his neck prick. Hopefully it wouldn’t cause the power to go out. He didn’t want to bike home if they canceled school. That would suck and knowing him, he would get sick.

It grew quiet, everyone pausing and waiting for the rain. Another bang sounded. Asahi and Yachi screamed.

“We made it before it rained!” Noya shouted jumping into the gym, unaware slamming the door open had made everyone jump. Hinata let go a breath he didn’t know he was holding and loosed the grip he somehow had on the hem of Kageyama’s shirt. Hopefully no one noticed. The rest of the second years and Takeda-sensei entered the gym, the wind blowing the door closed behind them.

“Has anyone seen Tsukki?” Yamaguchi automatically questioned them, his eyes growing more panicked as the sky outside seemed to grow darker. Everyone denied seeing him and dispersed to stretch or talk to someone.

“He’ll be okay Yamaguchi!” Hinata patted him on the shoulder. “He’s too stubborn not to make it on time!” Yamaguchi chuckled nervously at Hinata’s side comment and his features relaxed.

“Yeah. He is pretty stubborn.” He agreed, casting one last look at the door before starting to practice his serve with Noya trying to receive it. With Yamaguchi’s nerves eased, Hinata went to find Daichi. The captain, being a more skilled receiver than Hinata, was supposed to help him improve in that area. Hinata found him in deep conversation with Takeda, both of them talking in serious, hushed tones.

“—get them all to the second floor. We should call everyone’s parents.” Takeda said as he pulled out his phone. “Ukai was supposed to be here by now.”

“Yamaguchi said Tsukishima should have arrived by now, too. Do you think—Hinata, right I was supposed to practice receives with you! We have a change of plan today. Could you help gather everyone?” Daichi held himself stiffly. A bubble of worry made his gut clench and a nausea climb up his throat. What was going on? Hinata stopped himself from going down that particular rabbit hole and reminded himself of what Daichi had said and nodded. He could do that. He could help and do what Daichi said.

“Everyone, a flash flood warning has been issued. Parts of the area is already getting flooded from the rain that’s coming in. It hasn’t hit the school yet but it will be hitting us soon, so we need to get to higher ground and contact everyone’s parents. Please get your things, and we’ll go to the upper levels of the gym.” A dead silence took the gym as Takeda-sensei spoke. A breath hitched in Hinata’s throat and he clamped down on the sick feeling creeping up. Shit.

 

___________

 

When they made it to the upstairs part of the building, Hinata noticed the light rumbling noise. It wasn’t thunder. It wasn’t an earthquake…? The sound grew louder and louder. Finally, the windows went black. A loud roar filled the air. Takeda quickly shoved them under the bleachers, throwing emergency blankets over their heads. The room went almost pitch black. He could barely make out Kageyama who was huddled under the same blanket as him. Suddenly, like someone dumping a bucket over them, he could tell what it was. It was rain. Hinata could hear the gym door slamming open and shut on the ground floor as the wind whipped into the building, bringing rain and mud onto the floor.

A phone was pressed into Hinata’s hands. He couldn’t hear what the person who gave him the phone said, but he assumed he was to contact his parents, like Takeda-sensei had wanted them to do. He shot his mom a short text explaining the situation. A crack of lightning lit up the gym and Hinata passed the phone back to Takeda.

The sound of cracking glass and wind made him want to puke. How could a storm like this happen so quickly? The weather station had only mentioned a slight chance of rain and high wind. This was a disaster, not a storm.

The window shattered and someone shrieked. Realizing he couldn’t hear anyone else, Hinata realized it was him. An arm covered his head and someone huddled over him, shielding him from the flurry of raindrops pelting them.

“I got you!” Hinata couldn’t tell who it was but he was thankful regardless. He bit back a whimper and thought back to Coach Ukai and Tsukishima and hoped they weren’t stuck in this.

After what seemed like hours of huddling and waiting, the sky lightened and the roar became quieter. Finally, Hinata could see and hear enough to tell who was who. The gymstill remained darker than is should be. The lights must have gone out.

“Is everyone alright?” Takeda’s voice was shaky as he sat up from where he was stretched over Noya and Yamaguchi. Everyone murmured ‘yes’ and sat up to observe the damage. Asahi uncurled himself from over him and Kageyama, and Hinata could finally see what had happened. A window near them had been busted out, letting in the wind and rain lightly pelt them. Takeda-sensei crawled out from under the bleachers and let out a small gasp as he looked at the gym.

“It’s starting to flood.” His lips looked thin as he dialed a number into his phone. After a minute of no answer from whoever was on the other end of the call, he let out a curse. “The phone lines are down. Did everyone get to contact their parents?”

“I couldn’t get ahold of my parents, but they’re on a flight right now?” Asahi wrung his hands together. “Daichi’s dad knows where I’m at and they contact him first when something happens.” Takeda nodded.

“As long as someone knows where all of you are at. Let’s get somewhere safer in case the water rises more.” They crawled out from under the bleachers and Hinata could see the muddy water spread thinly across the floor. If he watched, he could tell that it was slowly surging higher a little at a time. Volleyballs and other sports equipment lazily floated in the swift current.

“Oi, come on.” Kageyama tugged him to the top of the bleachers where the team sat huddled under the blankets.

“What do we do now?” Daichi looked worried as he sat between Suga and Tanaka. “Can we somehow leave and get somewhere safer?”

“The water is too high. Just a little bit of floodwater can carry someone off and I don’t think it would be worth it enough to risk that.” Takeda contemplated for a moment, the rest of them hush so he could think. “We can get to the roof if the water gets too high but as for keeping dry, we wouldn’t have anything waterproof to cover us.”

“So we’ll have to wait?” Noya called out.

“So we’ll have to wait.” Takeda agreed.

“What if Tsukki is stuck in this? What if Coach Ukai is stuck in this?” Yamaguchi’s voice wavered and his shoulders shook.

“They’re both smart, Tsukishima especially. They’ll be okay.” Takeda calmly said, patting Yamaguchi’s back soothingly. “We’ll try to find them as soon as it’s safe, alright? Plus, the water shouldn’t be too high for them if they were stuck in this.” Yamaguchi nodded and went quiet.

And they began to wait.

 

_____________

 

“I swear; I saw it with my own two eyes Ryuu!” Noya bounced on his heels, peering out into the murky water. 

“You’re a liar!” Tanaka shouted back. The two playfully tussled a bit before Noya called back to Hinata.

“Hey Hinata! Tell him that looks like a yuri manga floating near the weightlifting equipment!”

“Don’t force this adult sight on our pure innocent kohai Yuu!” Tanka scolded, giving him a noggie. Hinata blanched. He didn’t want to be involved in this one. He ignored his fighting senpais and went back to counting the number of volleyballs floating away with Yachi.

“Oh look! There’s the ball Kiyoko-Senpai drew a little bird on when we were cleaning one day! Aw man! I hope we can find it later!” Yachi fussed with her hairclip looking  
slightly disheveled. “All this water is causing a lot of damage… I wonder how long it’ll take to repair it?”

“Not long hopefully! I want to get to practice again soon! They’ll have to scrape all the mud out first though.” Hinata furrowed his brows. “I wonder where they’ll take the mud that’s left to!”

“They’ll probably put it back where it came from dumbass!” Kageyama grumbled. He sat in the floor swaddled in one of the emergency blankets, his face peeking out just a little. 

“Pfffft. You look stupid.” Hinata poked Kageyama’s cheek and giggled. For someone so mean and serious, he could be really silly sometimes. 

“Shut up!” Kageyama blushed and retracted into his blanket burrito. “I’m cold.” 

“Please everyone, calm down a little bit. And step away from the railing!” Takeda pointedly scooted them back looking a bit flustered. “I know it’s boring waiting up here but we need to try to sit tight.” 

“Sorry sensei.” They all echoed. Hiata felt slightly guilty and sat next to Ennoshita. 

“He’s not mad at you guys, he’s just a bit anxious about the flooding.” Ennoshita ruffled his hair. Hinata grinned and looked back out to the gym. Minus Coach Ukai and Tsukishima, they were all together and safe. He guessed that was good enough until their two absent members turned up safe and sound.


	2. And we're dying with every step we take (Tsukishima, Yamaguchi)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY HALLOWEEN KIDS. TAKE SOME IMAGINARY CANDY! :D

“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk with you?” Yamaguchi’s voice mingled with static through the phone. 

“Yama, you’re already at the school. I’ll be fine.” Tsukishima tucked his cellphone between his chin and shoulder. Yamaguchi was a worrier. Every day since they were kids, they walked to school together and every single time Yamaguchi couldn’t make it to school, he called fretting. When he was out with strep throat for two weeks, he had made 

Kei call him when he left and when he arrived at school. But no matter how much the constant nagging annoyed him, Tsukishima always called or texted telling Yamaguchi he had made it to school or made it back home. 

“Okay…..” Yamaguchi trailed off for a minute and both of them sat in a comfortable silence for a moment. “See you at practice?” 

“See you at practice.” Tsukishima confirmed, popping a piece of bread into the toaster. 

“Alright.”

“Okay. “

“Love you.” Yamaguchi’s voice was sickeningly sweet and Kei bit back a sigh. 

“I love you too. Now, hurry up. It’s supposed to rain and I’m not packing you an extra school uniform.” 

“Okay... Bye.” Yamaguchi hung up with a little hesitance. He must be worried about the rain. Grabbing his bread with a dinosaur shaped design toasted into the side, Tsukishima went upstairs to put an extra uniform shirt into his bag. 

When he walked out the door, red gym bag in tow, he made sure to grab an umbrella. The storm was supposed to hit after he arrived at school, but being prepared never hurt. On the way home it would probably be raining anyway. A single drop of water hit his glasses. He locked the door behind him and started his rainy day playlist. Time for a ten-minute walk alone. 

Tsukishima made it to the stretch of road before he reached the town near the school before the sky started to go dark. That wasn’t good. He walked a little faster and waited for the rain to start. Tsukishima heard thunder and remembered something Yamaguchi’s mom had taught them when they were kids. A flash of lighting streaked across the sky and he began counting. 30 seconds passed until he heard thunder again. The storm was 6 miles away then. He sped up to nearly a jog. That wasn’t good. A car pulled off the road behind him and Tsukishima warily slowed. The beam of headlights danced on the ground in front of him. Maybe the driver realized that the storm was supposed to get bad too and pulled off before it hit. 

“Tsukishima! Get in!” Coach Ukai stuck his head out the window and waved. “A downpour’s about to hit!” He hesitated for a moment, but a loud crash of thunder broke his chain of thought and made up his mind. He slid into the passenger side of the car. 

 

\-------

 

Yamaguchi tended to be a worrier. He worried about being good enough. He worried about the weather. He worried about things that were important for him to care about, so Tsukishima Kei was definitely on the top of his list of current concerns and worries he had. The storm continued outside and water kept rising below them. One could almost way he was in a numb panic; he was too in control and numb to have a breakdown, but the sharp edge of panic bit into his lungs making it hard to speak and breath. 

“Is there any cell service yet?” He croaked to Takeda-sensei, who was checking his phone for the umpteenth time (not that Yamaguchi blamed him). The teacher shook his head sadly. 

“None. We don’t have any power either so I’m assuming the power lines aren’t functioning.” Takeda rubbed a hand down his face. 

“Do you know about where Tsukishima should be right now? I mean, about where he was when this happened?” 

“He would have been about to school. Maybe five minutes away on foot? It takes us about fifteen minutes to walk to school and he left about ten minutes before it hit, so he shouldn’t’ be too far.” He paused and his lips curled down and his eyes watered a bit. “I should have waited for him. I should have made him walk with me this morning, I should’ve--.” Takeda soothingly rubbed his back as he choked back the lump in his throat. 

“No one expected this to happen. The weather channel this morning only predicted a 75% chance of rain, and not anything this bad. It’s not your fault. He’ll be okay, alright?” Yamaguchi nodded. Takeda smiled sadly at him, his eyes looking a bit watery too. 

“Coach Ukai is out there too isn’t he?” Yamaguchi asked. Takeda hummed in confirmation and looked out wistfully at the broken window. 

“I think...” He trailed off. “I think he’ll be okay too.” The two went silent, watching the others bicker and entertain themselves. “I think we’ll all be okay.” 

Time continued to pass. Yamaguchi joined Kageyama, Yachi, and Hinata after about an hour. 

“That piece of debris looks like a hat.” Yamaguchi huddled into Kageyama’s side, leaching warmth out of the setter. He pointed at a weird lump floating alomg the outskirts of the gym. “That one also looks like a hat.”

“Not all of them look like a hat!” Hinata exclaimed from his other side. Yachi giggled from her spot next to Hinata. 

“If you look hard enough they all look like hats.” Kageyama stuck his hand out of the blanket bundle he had formed to point at Hinata with a frown. 

“No!” Hinata groaned and turned to Yachi. “Do you think it looks like a hat?” 

“Well, if you look at it for a while it does. But that’s just me!” Yachi rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. Not even she could save them from Yamaguchi’s bad identification skill. 

“Oh look, it’s another hat.” Yamaguchi smirked to himself as Hinata ranted about the blob not being a hat. Tsukki would think it was funny. His smile faltered. He’ll just have to tell him later. 

“It’s a bag!” Hinata pointed at the next floating object. It wasn’t a hat, that was obvious. A red gym bag lazily drifted to the bottom of the stairwell. Tadashi’s eyes widened. It looked like Tsukki’s. He jumped up and quickly ran to where the water met the staircase, ignoring the shouts behind him. The bag was within reach. He waded down a stair step and pulled it to him. Water sloshed around his calves and slowly rose as he looked back to his teammates. They pulled him away from the water, scolding and yelling but his ears were ringing too loud to hear them. He opened the bag before he could stop himself. A set of gym clothes and a uniform shirt lay soggy in the bottom alongside a pair of black-rimmed glasses. He shakily pulled the glasses out and dropped the rest of the bad. The noise around him hushed. 

“They’re Tsukki’s.” Yamaguchi looked up and wondered why everyone looked blurry. Suga wiped Yamaguchi’s cheeks. Oh. He was crying. “They have t-t-the thing, the scratch on the side and— He packed me an extra shirt.” He gripped the glasses tightly, as if they’d vanish if he let them go. 

“He packed me a shirt.” He kneeled and curled into himself. “He knew mine would get wet.” A wet giggle passed through his lips. His teammates ushered him to the bleachers and crowded around him. Takeda placed Tsukishima’s bag at Yamaguchi’s feet and threw a blanket over him. They huddled together and hoped the bag didn’t mean what they thought it did. 

Yamaguchi rubbed the tear tracks off his face and looked at his team, who were all trying (and some failing) not to cry too. Takeda looked ragged and worn, like he was holding the world on his shoulders. 

“Tsukki… He said he’s see me at practice this morning.” Everyone looked at him sadly. “And Kei hasn’t lied to me yet, I don’t think. He has to be okay, then.” Hinata wormed his small hand into Yamaguchi’s gripping tight. He hoped Kei was alright at least, and that would be good enough for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well..... This took longer to write for a measly 1,372 words. Sorry about that! I'll probably update once a week so look for me on either Monday or Friday! Thank you for all the nice comments, and please, as always, feel free to drag me for any mistakes! ;)


	3. We're dying with every breath we make (Tsukishima)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dabs* 2400-ish words today dudes
> 
> A wild Tsukishima finally appears with his own chapter. (and there's vomiting mentioned [not explicitly] if you get a bit uncomfortable with puke)

Water splashed his face, waking him up. Tsukishima coughed and sat up wildly, shocked by the water he was enveloped by. Something grappled him and roughly pulled him back onto whatever he had been floating on. 

“Calm down, you need to stop moving!” His glasses were gone and he couldn’t see who had spoken. He went partially limp, tightly clinging to the debris underhand. “You’re okay, we’re going to be okay. Jesus, kid. You’re burning up!” The voice sounded frantic and Tsukishima was hoisted higher on the makeshift raft. 

A hand touched his forehead and he held back the urge to flinch. He opened his mouth to question the mysterious person, but the only thing he could manage was a wheeze. When he became more aware of his surroundings. He was laying on his back on some boards and other odds and ends. Someone was treading water at his side, keeping the raft from colliding with anything. 

“Do you know what’s happening? Do you remember anything? Shit, should’ve taken more of those first aid classes.” Though the last part was muttered, Kei could hear something odd in the other person’s voice. Worry maybe? And did he know what was happening? A brief flash of lightning lit up the sky and Tsukishima could tell it was Ukai next to him, despite how blurry he looked. Some of his memories came back to him. The car floating. Being trapped underwater. Busting out the window before the water could do it. Hitting his head as they were pulled out of the car from the onslaught of water. Blood from Ukai scraping out of the vehicle behind him. Silence. Engulfed in floating dark nothingness. 

“—Id! Hey kid, stay with me!” Ukai was shaking him. “You have a concussion and maybe even some cracked ribs. You have to stay awake.” Tsukishima’s eyes fluttered open and he looked up into the sky, a sharp pain settling in his chest as his mind cleared. 

“—Where?” Kei’s voice was thick and rattled. He sounded just a bit more pathetic than he felt, laying on some debris and now struggling to breathe through the odd feeling in his chest. 

“We’re drifting towards the school so we’ll reach some buildings soon. Then we can get dry and to a hospital.” Ukai maneuvered them around a tree trunk wedged in place by something under the water. Something red trailing after them caught his eye. 

“Bleeding.” Kei motioned in Ukai’s direction, remembering the way his coach had to scrape out of the car. 

“I’m fine. Quit straining yourself kid.” Ukai offhanded commented, not looking into Kei’s eyes. Tsukishima grunted, unsatisfied. 

“You’re bleeding.” He said, more forcefully. Tsukishima made sure to give Ukai a cross look, ensuring that the other knew he wasn’t off the hook. Ukai may be his elder, but he wasn’t going to take shit like that in this situation. Ukai still frowned stubbornly. Tsukishima rolled his eyes. Time to take matters into his own hands. Before he did something stupid, he made sure his limbs would cooperate. Both arms and legs seemed to be in working order. He lifted his head ignoring the flair of pain in his head and ribs. Yep, he could support his own weight. Tsukishima flipped over to his back and shimmied himself into the water, making sure to not put weight on his chest. 

“What the fuck are you doing! Get back on there!” Ukai attempted to stop him from sliding off, but Tsukishima wasn’t having that. He made his way into the water, sweat dripping down his forehead and ignoring the stabbing feeling in his chest. “Why did you do that?!” Ukai was freaking out, trying to ensure Kei wasn’t going to go under again, but Tsukishima felt lighter in the water, allowing his breathing to ease and the pressure of his own weight to subside. 

“You’re. Bleeding. I’m fine. You’re. Still bleeding.” Kei had to take a breath in between each word, which butchered what he had claimed. “Need to. Stop it. From—“ Kei made a gesture with the hand not occupied by clinging to the raft. Hopefully Ukai understood what he meant. If the coach kept bleeding like that, he could faint from blood loss which could be deadly in the situation. Paired with Kei’s still present dizziness and the blank tinge around his blurry vision, that could mean the possibility of them both drowning. Plus, in the situation that a rescue could be possible if they could get attention drawn to them by shouting, Kei wouldn’t be able to do that with his limited breath, so Ukai needed to stop bleeding for both of their sakes. 

“Fine, but as soon as I stop bleeding, you’re back on the raft. And let me at least hold on to you somehow because I’m not having you drown again.” Kei nodded. He could live with that. Ukai clawed onto their pile of debris and wrapped his arm around Tsukishima waist, being careful of his ribs. Kei still winced as they jostled a bit when the raft bobbed. Even without his glasses, Tsukishima could tell Ukai was pale. He also assumed he was pale too but the blood made Ukai’s pallor look terrifying. Kei maneuvered to Ukai’s legs, the other having a tight grip of the back of his jacket. Ukai was generally scratched up, a nick there, a small abrasion here. Kei moved down to where most of the blood was coming from. Long gashed ran down Ukai’s legs. They weren’t deep, but still drooled blood from being unable to scab. His left leg in particular looked, to be blunt, awful. 

“What’s the damage, doctor?” Ukai said sarcastically, still gripping Kei’s shirt like it was a lifeline. Kei rolled the Ukai’s pant legs up and started to work on the left. There were glass shards sticking out, keeping in from healing. Ukai hissed as Kei plucked the smaller pieces out. There was a particularly large piece wedged near the underside of Ukai’s knee that looked quite worrying. He would leave that one for last. He picked the tiny shards from Ukai’s right leg too before he saw another worrying sight. An even larger piece in Ukai’s left shin. That was going to be a bitch to remove, even when at a hospital. He thought back to the first aid classes his mother made him attend and all the horror stories she had from the ER she worked in. Kei slipped out of his jacket (Ukai quickly grabbing onto his t-shirt and hissing confused curses) as he placed it over the smaller shard. 

“Sorry.” Ukai looked at him, confused and a bit worried about what that meant, before Kei gripped the glass piece and carefully pulled it out. 

“Son of a bitch! What the fuck?” Ukai spammed a bit, trying to stay still. Kei held up the shard for Ukai to see with a pointed look. “Holy shit that was huge! I couldn’t even feel it!” That was concerning as there was another big-ass piece still in Ukai’s leg. 

“Another. Bigger. Not getting out.” Kei firmly tied his jacket around Ukai’s leg, hoping that would help stop the bleeding. 

“How big?” Ukai asked, his eyes wide. 

“Size. Of my hand.” Tsukishima’s breaths were getting shallower and the pressure on his chest increased. 

“Okay.” Ukai seemed a bit in shock, but seemed to quickly accept this new development. “Okay. You, back on the raft.” Ukai eased back into the water. Kei didn’t think he could get back up there. The edge around his vision got a bit darker as he tried to lift himself back on the debris with no avail. Ukai moved next to him.

“I got you.” Ukai muttered, hopping on the side of the raft and pulled Tsukishima up. Kei frowned, embarrassed at how weak he was. He should have been able to get back up. Ukai helped Kei settle on his back and went to the water to keep them from hitting something. 

“…thanks.” Tsukishima wheezed when he spoke, but it would be disrespectful not to thank him. Ukai pretty much saved his life. Scratch that, by what Ukai had said, Kei had probably drowned for a little bit before being revived. He also noted that the cracked ribs were most likely from CPR. 

“Don’t thank me yet, we’re still in deep shit. It’s still raining and I bet the power’s gone out. We need to get you to a hospital.” Ukai shivered a bit. “To be honest…. You were dead Tsukishima. Like, completely without a pulse, not breathing, blue lips dead. Plus, you have a concussion, cracks ribs from when I revived you, and all this damn water is probably making you sick.” Tsukishima felt like he was drifting out of his body. So he was dead. He didn’t remember much after hitting his head, only the terrifying pressure of the murky lack water and waking up. What did it feel like? Was there some afterlife he didn’t recall momentarily going to? Or was it just an eternal nothingness after life? What would have Yamaguchi done? How would Yama feel if he was dead? Would anyone care or not really mind his absence? Who would take care of Yamaguchi and bring him spare shirts and build blanket forts with him around the kotatsu in the winter? 

“You could have only been, you know, out like that for a couple minutes.” Ukai tried to reassure him, patting Tsukishima’s leg lightly. “Anyways, we need to get you to a hospital as soon as possible.” 

“Bad. Bedside manner.” Tsukishima rolled his head to the side to look at Ukai blankly. Ukai chuckled and sighed. 

“I’m a store owner and a coach, not a nurse.” Tsukishima snorted, but that turned into a coughing fit. His throat and chest burned. It felt like fire was licking up his chest and into his mouth, cutting off his air. His vision went black. 

 

-

 

When he awoke again, they were stuck on something. Ukai was kicking something underwater and cursing the rain. Ukai roared one final curse before deflating and leaning against the raft. Tskishima tried to say something, anything, but all that he could manage was a strangled rasp. Ukai turned his head at the sound and gave him a sad smile. 

“We’re stuck.” Tsuksihima tried to sit up but the only thing he could do was weakly cough and lull his head to the side. How pathetic. He couldn’t even more, so how was he going to help in any way? By this point he was just dead weight. Ukai’s chance of survival would increase if he left Tsukishima somewhere. Ukai climbed onto the raft with him, their weigh making it sag slightly, but whatever they were stuck on kept them afloat. Tsukishima never noticed how much taller he was than Ukai. Like, he was almost ten centimeters taller. Ukai laid next to him and saw Kei’s eyes open. 

“Hi.” Ukai said weakly turning his head to look at Tsukishima. He replied with a loud puff of air. “We made it to the town. I think they evacuated.” Ukai looked tired. Kei could make out dark bags under his eyes and could guess his leg probably looked terrible from all the kicking he had done. 

“You have a fever. Heh, thought you’d be out a little longer.” Tsukishima noticed Ukai’s jacket was gone. Tsukishima looked to Ukai’s leg and noticed a tourniquet. With a shaky hand he pointed to it. 

“Oh. I started to bleed again and it wouldn’t stop so…” Ukai shrugged. “My leg or my life right?” He sounded a bit hysteric as he rubbed his face. Tsukishima felt terrible. Ukai was probably lose part of his leg and here he was doing nothing. What a waste. He was useless. Ukai sighed and closed his eyes. 

“I say we take an hour nap and try again later.” He looked up to the sky pensively. “It’s brighter out. It can’t be earlier than 4 P.M. though.” Tsukishima hummed. They  
would be about to start evening practice. Double practice was hell sometimes, but seeing Yamaguchi look so determined and excited always made him feel warm, comfortable almost. 

“Sorry you were out in this kid. Heh. I kind of feel like this is my fault for dragging you with me, so yeah. Sorry.” Ukai reminded him of his brother for a moment. He seemed to apologize for things that weren’t his fault. It wasn’t his fault it rained. It wasn’t his fault Tsukishima was with him. It just happened. Tsukishima weakly flopped his arm on Ukai angrily. A little nudge like that would really show him what for. 

“You may not be able to say anything, but damn you’re salty. One time me and Takeda-sensei went for sake after practice and we were talking about you kids and he said, ‘listen, he may be saltier than the dead sea but he thinks before he does stupid things and therefore a godsend.’.” Ukai smiled. “He’s really fond of you kids.” 

Tsukishima really didn’t know what to say so he remained quiet and still. At least they didn’t hate him, he thought.

“You and Shimizu are like his children by the way he talks about you. Actually scratch that, he’d literally adopt all of you.” Ukai continued to babble sleepily. Blood loos and keeping them from getting stuck for so long had done a number on him. After a couple minutes, his speech slowed and his eyes fluttered shut, raindrops sticking to his eyelashes. Kei waited a couple seconds before allowing himself to cough. It hurt pretty bad to breath but coughing felt like inhaling fire. He pressed his hand to his mouth to muffle the sound. Tsukishima rolled onto his side to lean over the side of the raft. He heaved a couple times before anything came up which was worse than the actual actin of vomiting. He wiped his mouth and shivered. It was getting colder and neither of them had jackets or something to put over them. 

Ukai groaned in his sleep and shuffled behind him. Using his last bit of consciousness and strength Tsukishima rolled back over and grabbed Ukai’s sleeve to ensure they weren’t unintentionally separated while they slept. His last though before he drifted off was if Yamaguchi was safe and how funny it would be if his coaches were to adopt the entire team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) :) :)


	4. And I’ll fall in line (Asahi)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little early, but here it is! I'm off school tomorrow and that's when i write, so ya'll are getting an early chapter! I hope you like it! :)

Asahi was less than happy as he let Hinata sporadically braid his hair. Yeah, it always looked nice when he braided it, but between Hinata’s fidgeting, what was happening around them, and Asahi’s own anxiousness he was about to lose it. 

“I’m sorry Hinata, but I have to get up and sit alone for a little bit.” Asahi stood up and unbraided his hair, feeling like trash when Hinata gave him a sad look. 

“It’s okay! Are you okay?” Hinata moved to Yamaguchi and started playing with his hair and looked at Asahi with concern. His gut twisted when Yamaguchi looked at him with the same look. 

“M’ fine! Just need to step away.” Asahi mumbled. Hinata nodded and stared to braid Yamaguchi’s cowlick while Yamaguchi sat with a small sad smile and played with Tsukishima’s glasses. Asahi shuffled to Takeda. 

“Ah, may I sit at the top of the staircase? The water is still a couple feet from the top…” Takeda turned from where he was talking quietly with Tanaka and Noya. 

“Yes, just be careful. If you see anything odd or the water gets higher, you have to come back though.” Takeda looked tired. He had made sure everyone was safe and their parents contacted. He even instructed someone to grab their things and a first aid kit. Takeda was like a glue, keeping them stable and in place. Asahi hoped it didn’t get worse and Takeda didn’t have to deal with any more of this. 

“Yes Sensei. Thank you.” Asahi sat at the top step and pulled his jacket closer. From here, rain coming in from the broken window could reach him, but he didn’t really care. He took a deep breath and sighed, releasing the tension in his shoulders. He ignored the looks Daichi and Suga were probably giving him and let his head lull forwards. Better. Less loud and less cramped. Asahi looked at the water. It was murky and all kinds of things floated in it. He saw several papers, a couple of boards, and even a tire. How far had the debris traveled only to be stuck in a high school gym? 

Asahi ruffled his hair and sighed again. Coach Ukai and Tsukishima were somewhere. He snorted and rolled his eyes. It would be funny if they floated in. But what if they DID and they weren’t alive? What if they were dead somewhere? Could they be hurt? He forced himself to breath and rationed with himself. Coach Ukai was fine. He was probably in a building somewhere. Tsukishima, too. Thinking of Tsukishima and Ukai, he felt a bit upset. Yamaguchi was so worried and Takeda kept checking his phone. The first years seemed to be a lot quieter and look over to Yamaguchi frequently, almost like Tsukishima would just appear out of thin air. Hell, Asahi almost expected to see him sitting next to Yamaguchi. Coach Ukai’s absence was a bit more obvious. His loud voice and commanding tone was too noticeable not to miss. 

But, they would be okay. Asahi could almost feel it, his anxiety telling him awful things be damned. He sat there a while, the chatter behind him fading into a nice hum. After a while Daichi joined him with a blanket claiming that Asahi would freeze without him. Suga, of course, followed Daichi and they huddled together playing eye spy and talking about the situation in hushed tones. 

“I spy something…… dirty white. Kageyama refuses to leave his blanket, and I think its fused to him now.” Suga yawned. 

“Is it the net? And I know, he keeps worming around on the bleachers. It’s kind of funny to watch.” Daichi commented snickering. 

“No, it’s not the net. Kageyama is literally like a little kid. I think he’s the youngest first year, too.” Suga pointed out. Asahi wasn’t paying attention. He was looking at something he could barely see out the gym door. It didn’t look like the other lumps of debris. It was like a speck, but something was off. He couldn’t put his finger on what is was. 

“Asahi!” Suga pinched him. “it’s your turn!” 

“I see something.” Asahi muttered, pointing it out to them. “Something doesn’t look right about that stuff floating to us.” Daichi and Suga looks too. As the thing floated closer, Asahi noticed it was sagging heavily underwater. Whatever it was, it was heavy. 

“I’m getting Takeada-Sensei. Keep an eye on it.” Daichi hopped up and Suga scooted closer to Asahi. 

“Is it moving?” Suga squinted and leaned forwards. “it looks like it’s moving.”

“Maybe it’s someone.” A shiver went down Asahi’s spine. What if it was a dead body? What if it was someone that was going to kill them? What if it was a wild animal? As if sensing his thoughts, Suga punched him in the side. 

“Whatever it is, it’s almost where we can see it good.” Daichi said, Takeda following him. 

“What is that?” Takeda murmured, cleaning his glasses and taking another look. They kept an eye on it for a while and soon they could see what it was. 

“People are on that!” Takeda gasped, running upstairs to call the others. “We have to get them out of the water! Tanaka and Asahi, tie some of the blankets together, we have to get them in here.” Takeda looked determined as he removed his glasses and jacket. In a couple seconds, they had a chain of obnoxiously colored emergency blankets and jackets formed. 

“Okay, what I’m about to do is stupid. Don’t do this in an emergency situation. I’m going to swim out and bring them in the gym, but in case I get swept away with the current, the Daichi and Shimizu are in charge.” While they were all a bit stunned, Takeda-Sensei tied one end of the chain to the stair railing and the other around his waist and swam out. They assembled on the staircase and silently watched him. After a couple of nerve-wracking minutes of clinging to each other, Takeda returned to the stairwell untied from the chain and looking exhausted. 

“Pull!” He yelled, drawing whatever that was tied to the other end closer. They all grabbed on and tugged. Soon a large mass entered the door and Asahi bit back a cry. Ukai and Tsukishima laid on the hodge-podge of boards and debris. Soon, they were close enough for them to get to. 

“Asahi, Tanaka, get Tsukishima first, but don’t squeeze his chest.” They quickly moved forwards and soon Asahi lifting Tsukishima onto the safety of the gym floor. The kid’s lips were tinged blue and he looked pale as he took small stuttered breaths, his eyes remaining closed the entire time. By the time they walked back to the stairs, Daichi and Takeda had Ukai off the raft and limping up the stairs. The settled him lounging on the bleachers, his injured leg propped up. 

“So stupid.” Ukai griped, shaking his finger at Takeda angrily. “You could’ve drowned Ittetsu!” 

“What and let you and Tsukishima drown? No. So, shut up and let me look at your leg.” Takeda-Sensei was furious, and everyone backed away. 

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi clutched Tsukishima’s hand and looked at Ukai helplessly. “What happened to him? What happened to both of you?” Yamaguchi’s eyes were angry, but he sounded more distraught than anything. 

“We, we were driving to the school. Water in the car. Tsukishima busted the window out but he. He was dead. He drowned. I got us both on some scrap and revived him, but he’s still having a h-hard time breathing and--” Ukai stopped, his face paling substantially as Takeda touched something on his leg. 

“Is this a tourniquet?” Takeda said quietly, waiting for Ukai to be able to respond. 

“Yeah. There’s a huge fucking glass shard in my leg.” Ukai slurred, his face still white. Asahi felt like puking as Takeda pulled up one of Ukai’s pant legs. That really was huge. A piece as big as Asahi’s palm had wedged itself into Ukai’s calf. Hinata turned away and puked, making Asahi feel queasy too. 

A scratchy, weak cough came from the floor where Tsukishima was. Tsukishima’s eyes fluttered open and locked with Yamaguchi’s. His face contorted before his shaky hand touched Yamaguchi’s face. 

“I have your glasses.” Yamaguchi whispered. “Oh god, you’re a stupid shit, Tsukki.” Tsukishima smiled and wheezed, cupping Yamaguchi’s face. 

“He is….. He. He’s stubborn. Stupid stubborn kid.” Ukai called out, his eyes rolling around in their sockets as he tried to sit up. Takeda pushed him back down. 

“Sit Tsukishima up so he won’t cough as bad. Someone sit behind him to support his weight. Ennoshita, I need you to take my phone and keep trying to call out.” Takeda-sensei rushed between Ukai and Tsukishima, trying to check them both over a quick as possible. “Asahi, sit behind Tsukishima so Yamaguchi and Narita can sit on either side of him to keep him warm.” Asahi nodded and helped prop Tsuksihima up.

Tsukishima shook under his hands as they eased him up. His eyes fluttered shut and his breathing hitched as Asahi slid in behind him. Tsukishima was pliant in his lap, only the occasional shutter showing any sign of him moving. They huddled around Tsukishima and Ukai, like they’d disappear if someone blinked. Kageyama wiped tears off of Hinata’s face and allowed the little red-head climb into his lap. They held Tsukishima’s feet and Kageyama even draped his blanket over Tsukishima. Narita looked back to Asahi and gave him a watery smile. Asahi figured he must have looked pretty teary eyed too as he smiled back. They were safe. They looked terrible, but they were alive. Yamaguchi ran his hands through Tsukishima’s hair and ignored the tears dripping down his cheeks. 

“Hi.” Tsukishima croaked, startling everyone. Yamaguchi smiled wiped his face. 

“Hi.” His smile wavered. “You’re late.” Tsukishima nodded, hummed, and sunk into Asahi almost like he was boneless. Asahi loosely wrapped his arms around Tsukishima’s waist hoping he wouldn’t start to lean. Tsukishima groaned and blinked his eyes open to fully look around. Yamaguchi put his glasses on for him and gave him a look that Asahi couldn’t decipher. Yamaguchi was Tsukishima’s best friend. He must have been really worried. Yamaguchi’s face broke and he leaned in to sloppily kiss the corner of Tsukishima’s mouth. Oh. More than friend, as Tsukishima leaned into it. Everyone awkwardly looked away. It was sweet and all but it seemed like something they shouldn’t see. 

“You’re terrible.” Yamaguchi whispered as he pulled away and let Tsukishima lean on his shoulder. “You had me worried.” 

“They had us all worried.” Takeda’s bluntly said frowning at Ukai. Ukia looked mildly hurt. Ouch. 

“M’ sorry…” Ukai replied. “I tried to call but it wouldn’t go through and then our phones got soaked and— “Takeda frowned, shook his head, and wiped the tears off his cheeks. 

“It was terrifying being here wondering if you were dead or off hurt somewhere or carried halfway across Japan. I swear to god, if you don’t take better care of yourself, I will.” Takeda grabbed Ukai’s hand. “You scared me to death, Ukai Keishin. You too Tsukishima. I was about to go look for you two myself if the rest of the kids weren’t here.” 

“M’ sorry.” Coach Ukai muttered again, his eyes looking a bit unfocused. “Hey. Why are you all so quiet. ‘s unnatural. I’ve not talked a lot, Tsukishima’s too quiet.” Tsukishima snorted and coughed in a huff. With that, the chatter started back up. Yachi want back to talking to Kiyoko about dresses and functionality, Tanaka and Noya continued to banter, and a peaceful babble filled the air. 

“Still no service.” Ennoshita called, sitting next to Narita and grabbing one of Tsukishima’s hands. “Holy shit, your hands are ice!” Yamaguchi nodded in agreement.  
“His hands are cold but I think he has a fever.” Yamaguchi squeezed Tsukishima’s hand. “You awake still?” Tsukishima didn’t reply. “Tsukki.” Nothing. “Kei?” Silence. 

“Takeda, he’s not waking up.” Asahi frantically called. Takeda knelt down next to them, lifting Tsukishima’s face to open his eyelids. 

“He has a concussion. Cracked ribs. Maybe hypothermia?” Ukai added, unsure. Tanaka helped him sit up. “He’s been in and out. Been waking him up every so often, but he’s only been actually unconscious about twice?” Ukai swayed a bit. 

“Both of you need a hospital. Are you sure there’s nothing?” Takeda asked, looking at Ennoshita. 

“Nothing.” Ennoshita's pained tone echoed the heavy weight settling in the air. 

“Then we’re going to have to figure out a way to let someone know we need help.” Takeda said determinedly, placing Tsukishima’s head to rest under Asahi’s chin. Asahi hoped and prayed that whatever he came up with worked, as Tsukishima continued to wheeze and shiver, and Ukai swayed like he could topple at any moment. This time, when Hinata moved behind him and started to frantically braid, Asahi didn't comment on it and a countdown clock in everyone's heads started to tick.


	5. A stranger's back is all I see (Ennoshita)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double Update This Week ;) 
> 
> Thank you everyone for all the nice comments. I really appreciate them so much, and this week I want to give you all a double update to kind of apologize for the chapter length (about 2000 words per chapter isn't that much ༼ ಥل͟ಥ ༽) 
> 
> Anyway, I'll have another Chapter up by Friday! Thanks for reading as always!

“So you’re telling me that the reason we’re stuck here is because of aliens?” Ennoshita sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a migraine coming on. 

“Okay, think about it. The weatherman said there wouldn’t be a lot of rain right? So if a disruption in the atmosphere was to happen, it would most likely cause weird weather patterns, unpredictable ones at that. So the only real explanation is aliens.” Kinoshita concluded his eyes wide and a smile stretching across his face. 

“Yeah.” Narita nodded, with a contemplative look. “Or the weatherman is in the illuminati and this was their plan all along.” Ennoshita gave a newly-awakened Tsukishima a look of suffering, but he was too busy trying to keep a straight face to notice it. After he had finally regained consciousness, Ennoshita, Narita, and Kinoshita was charged with the task of making sure he stayed awake, but Narita and Kinoshita were taking it a step to far for Ennoshita’s tastes. 

“What’s your opinion on the issue Tsukishima?” Kinoshita peered down from where he was stationed behind Tsukishima to look the younger boy. 

“Yes, tell your human heating units your opinion.” Narita put a hand over his heart and snugged closer to Tsukishima. Tsukishima grunted, too busy snickering to himself to answer.

“I swear to god.” Ennoshita groaned. He had heard the illuminati vs. aliens argument way too much and knew it all too well. His friends were infecting the rest of the   
team by bringing it up. Yamaguchi gave him a sympathetic look from where he was sprawled out on Tsukishima’s legs but it soon morphed into a mischievous grin. Shit.

“The real question is, are the illuminati actually…” He passed for dramatic effect. “Aliens!” Tsukishima groaned with him that time as Kinoshita and Narita cheered. 

“Keep it down, it’s nap time not conspiracy theory time.” Ukai called. Ukai was bullied onto the floor and was forced into trying to take a nap. The whole lot of them were all wedged together, Ukai and Tsukishima in the middle and the rest of them huddled around. Directly in the center though, were Narita and Tanaka, who were deemed the warmest and placed in the dead center. Narita had migrated to Tsukishima and had somehow ended up curled around his arm. Tsukishima seemed relatively unbothered by the lack of space, and quietly accepted the warmth. Ukai, Takeda, and Tsukishima had been dripping with dirty water, but soon they had been wrung out and some of their clothing swapped. Tsukishima had on Asahi’s hoodie on and a damp, but relatively dry pair of his wrung out gym shorts. The blanket Kageyama had was wrapped around him firmly, but Ennoshita could tell he was still shivering a bit. 

Tanaka was on Narita’s other side and was laying practically on top of Ukai’s chest. Ukai was more visibly cold and had several jackets and a blankets placed over him. Takeda sat his feet keeping his injured leg elevated and clean with the first aid kit as the rest of their teammates huddled on and around him. Hinata had bounced around braiding everyone’s hair, but eventually ended up at Ukai, who now sported two bone braids in his lose (and wild-looking) hair, and Hinata curled up at his head. Daichi swapped shirts with Ukai but because of the tourniquet on his leg, the coach remained unable to take off and wring out his pants. Takeda simply wrung out his clothes and put them back on, saying that slightly damp clothes weren’t a bother. 

Soon, they quieted down a little, and the only noise was Tsukishima’s loud, constricted breaths. Ennoshita stared to doze, but a tap on his shoulder startled him awake. It was Kiyoko, leaning over Yachi to tug at his sleeve. 

“I think I may have signal.” She said, excitement leaking into her voice. Ennoshita carefully maneuvered away from Tsukishima to look. A single bar of service showed up in the corner of her screen. 

“Try to call out!” Ennoshita turned to Takeda. “Sensei, Kiyoko thinks she might have service!” Takeda looked ecstatic.

“Call 119.” Takeda ordered, his voice sounding hopeful. “If anyone has a working phone check it.” Ennoshita pulled out Takeda’s phone and dialed the number. Static. 

“I can’t get through.” Ennoshita said. Kiyoko shook her head too, tears forming in her eyes. 

“Yes? Hello?” Yachi cheered, tugging at Kiyoko’s sleeve. “We have two people severely injured in the Karasuno high school volleyball gym. We’re trapped in the mezzanine by the water and we need of medical services immediately.” Yachi tearfully listened to the other end of the phone before nodding and handing the phone to Takeda. 

“Yes, hello?” Takeda clung to the phone tightly. “This is Takeda Ittetsu. There are sixteen people in the gym right now, and fourteen are minors. Two people are injured, a coach and a student. Yes. I understand. Thank you.” Takeda handed Yachi back the phone. “I need you to stay on the line with them, can you do that?” Yachi nodded and began talking about the severity of Ukai and Tsukishima’s injuries as Takeda stood up and took off his bright green track jacket. 

“I’m going to hang this up on the outside of the door to the roof. I’ll be right back.” As Takeda left, Ukai spoke again, his voice quiet. 

“It’s stopped raining. Might be able to leave soon.” He slurred. His eyes were glassy and unfocused. Ennoshita looked at Ukai’s leg and shuttered. From the tourniquet down, his leg was unnaturally pale. When Takeda took off his shoes for him, his foot was tinged blue, but now it looked purple and blue. The shard of glass protruding from his upper shin (right under his knee) didn’t look better, as the area of skin around it looked very red and puffy. Tsukishima didn’t look to great either. His breathing rattled and his lips still looked pale. Whoever sat behind him had to be careful because even the slightest brush against the top of his chest resulted in hissed breaths and Tsukishima fighting back tears. The pair of them looked like hell basically. Takeda returned and settled back in. 

“When it gets dark, we can use someone’s phone with a flashlight to signal where we are.” Yachi relayed the information about the bright green jacket showing where they were to the person on the other end of the phone. 

“We’re all the way across town from where they’re deploying rescue groups, so it may be tonight before they can get to us. It’s apparently almost 6’o’clock and they said that their estimated time of arrival is around ten or eleven tonight.” Yachi looked at Takeda helplessly and her bottom lip quivered. 

“It’ll be okay. We just have to keep warm and safe until they arrive. It’ll be okay.” He soothed, smiling at Yachi kindly. “Thank you for telling us!” Yachi nodded and burrowed into Kiyoko, her voice and grip on her phone were both firm.

“That’s four or five hours.” Yamaguchi sighed. “Hopefully they get here sooner than later.” Tsukishima seemed to agree. He pressed a hand against Yamaguchi’s cheek with a hitched sigh and Yamaguchi leaned into his touch with a wide toothy grin. 

“Aw, you two are so cute together!” Tanaka crooned, looking exceptionally happy. Ennoshita felt an odd twinge at the genuinely happy smile Tanaka gave their embarrassed kouhai. Tsukishima stuck out his tongue in displeasure and Yamaguchi stammered out an uncomfortable thank you. Noya joined in happily, gushing at how proud he was, making Tsukishima pull the blanket over his head to hide and Yamaguchi cover his red face. It was obvious they were smitten with each other and Ennoshita felt proud of himself for noticing before they basically told everyone. Between small smiles and Tsukishima’s tendency to touch Yamaguchi’s hair, it wasn’t so surprising. No one else seemed that shocked, but Hinata and Kageyama. They’re outliers and shouldn’t be counted though. 

“They grow up so fast.” Suga dramatically sniffed and tightly squeezed Daichi’s hand. “It’s like it was yesterday when— “Before Suga could finish his spiel, Daichi detangled their hands and wedged himself between Ennoshita and Yachi.   
“I don’t know him.” Daichi firmly told Ennoshita. Suga wailed something about his husband leaving him and Ukai looked amused as Suga stage wept into his chest. Ennoshita rethought his life once more. Yamaguchi pulled the blanket off Tsukishima’s face, which looked content despite the ever-present grimace of pain. 

“Does Tsukishima like Yamaguchi or something?” Kageyama whispered loudly to Hinata, genuinely confused. Ennoshita snorted. Tsukishima laughed roughly and Yamaguchi hid his face in his hands again, but probably out of second-hand embarrassment for Kageyama. 

“I’m kind of oblivious, but wow Kageyama. They literally kissed.” Hinata shook his head sadly, and Tsukishima wheezed pitifully as he tried to stop laughing. 

“I didn’t see that, idiot!” Kageyama frowned and huffed. Suga gently patted his head.

“I’m sorry, my youngest child. My small setter son. You’re oblivious.” Suga pulled a pouting Kageyama into his chest, evidently not done with the dramatics. Daichi sunk down and sighed, giving a tired look to Ennoshita that he knew all too well. Kageyama and Hinata continued to squabble, but something drew his eyes back to Tsukishima. He was clutching his chest and no noise left his mouth. Kinoshita was helping him sit up better and trying to get someone’s attention. 

“Hey! Tsukishima isn’t breathing!” Everyone stopped and turned to where Tsukishima was struggling. Yamaguchi soothingly talked to him, trying to calm him down. A wet cough escaped his throat, but he couldn’t get any air down. Yachi frantically talked into the phone, urging the person on the other end for a quicker rescue. Silent tears finally leaked out of Tsukishima’s eyes and Ennoshita moved so he wouldn’t be in the way. Takeda-Sensei quickly took his place. He removed Tsukishima’s glasses and put his ear to his chest. Tsukishima wasn’t a crier. He was a pouter and possibly emotionally warped, but Ennoshita knew he was the type to stubbornly refuse to cry. The tears running down his pale cheeks were quiet and really unnoticeable unless you looked directly at him. His face remained passive except the occasional twitch of his face despite the fact he couldn’t breathe. 

“I need to get behind him.” Takeda urged, switching places with Kinoshita. Takeda pressed an ear to Tsukishima’s chest before thumping him on the back. Hard. Tsukishima coughed a couple times and inhaled with a sob. The little color in his face returned. Takeda soothingly rubbed Tsukishima’s back as if to apologize as the other gulped air greedily. Takeda whispered something to Kinoshita, who moved to elevate Ukai’s injured leg as Takeda sat behind Tsukishima. He couldn’t see over Tsukishima’s shoulders as he situated them, but remained there anyways cradling the first year carefully. Tsukishima was ridiculously limp throughout the whole ordeal and his chest spasmed with every breath he took. Ennoshita could tell he was struggling to remain calm about the situation because of the constant flickering of emotions crossing his stiff face.   
Yamaguchi gently wiped away the tears leaking from Tsukishima’s eyes and whispered soothing words between tears of his own. 

Ennoshita looked at Yachi who was shakily talking in the phone practically begging for them to hurry. He needed to do something. Something helpful. Ennoshita settled beside Tsukishima once more, resolving that even though he could really do anything that useful, he could keep Tsukishima warm. His hands were cold to the touch and his long fingers looked translucent even against Ennoshita’s naturally pale skin. 

Ukai threw his arm over and felt around until he grabbed tightly on Tsukishima’s shirt, almost as if he would float away otherwise. 

“You need to get better kid.” Ukai whispered as he clung tighter. “You need to stop this not-breathing shit, it’s terrifying.” Tsukishima fumbled around, grabbing Yamaguchi’s shirt and Ukai’s hand as tightly as he could (which was only a small squeeze). 

 

Ennoshita looked at Ukai’s blue leg and Tsukishima’s heaving chest. Four hours was a long time.


	6. He's only a few feet in front of me (Tsukishima)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second update of the week! ;)  
> Next week we're back to normal schedule. As always, thank you for reading and thank you for all of those who comment, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF YOU THAT GIVE ADVICE AND POINT STUFF OUT!!! I love it when some tells me something I could do better!  
> In all, thanks for all of you who've stuck around!

He was pathetic really. Pretty useless too. Tsukishima understood there was no reason to really feel like this in the situation, but in all honesty, he was pretty much dead weight. Literally and metaphorically. It was a tad bit amazing Takeda-Sensei could hold him up considering the fact the teacher was about 30 cm shorter than him. Tsukishima didn’t weigh much for what his height would make one think, so that probably explained the ease Takeda and Ukai both had with lifting and tugging on him. 

Takeda cradled him with his entire upper body, making sure he remained still and upright. The ‘sitting’ portion was really starting to escape him, as he somehow kept leaning to the side. Takeda’s light but precise grip was different from Kinoshita or Azumane’s. Azumane was giant dispite being slightly shorter and was more like an overgrown pillow than anything. His hands were soft and tentative and he was very hesitant to touch Tsukishima. Kei didn’t blame him; he did look like shit. After a “thrilling” game of rock-paper-scissors, Kinoshita claimed his right to sit behind Tsukishima and Kei felt offended no one asked if that was okay but the second year was warmer than Azumane. Kinoshita, in contrast to their team’s ace, was a bit less afraid of Tsukishima. He was more firm and surprisingly talkative once he seemed to get comfortable.  
Yamaguchi had remained attached to him throughout the entire time, refusing to lose contact with him. Since Tsukishima’s ability to breath properly had declined yet again, he seemed more determined than ever to make sure he was fused to him. Kei wasn’t complaining even when he thought about the teasing they would be subject to after this was over. They were just lucky their teammates were so accepting. Some people weren’t as kind.

“You feel better?” Yamaguchi asked, looking at him hopefully. He opened his mouth to reply but words seemed too hard to form. The extreme pain in his chest had subsided but it was replaced by a searing burn every time he breathed. His head throbbed in time with the stabbing in his sternum and it overall was an unpleasant feeling. At least he was alive though. Tsukishima could have been dead, so at least the pain would be worth it in the end. Ukai may have only taken one first aid class, but someone should probably congratulate him on his ability to perform CPR. His mother once told him that broken ribs meant that the chest compressions were the recommended five centimeters and well timed. 

“Tsukki?” Oh yeah. Yamaguchi. He was asked if he felt better. He nodded a little bit and winced at the movement. There was no need to say he felt like shit, because that seemed obvious at that point. Yamaguchi didn’t seem to buy it but didn’t prod. Ennoshita had surprisingly stationed himself beside Tsukishima throughout it all. In fact, most of his teammates were a tad bit clingy towards him and Ukai. Tanaka and Narita had moved from the center, leaving Tsukishima’s side pressed against Ukai’s. The coach had a death grip on his shirt, but Kei couldn’t say anything snippy to that. A majority of their team was terrified and it wouldn’t do any good to rile them up.  
He looked at Ukai’s leg and swallowed the sick feeling rising up. From the knee down looked terrible compared to when he pried the shards out of it on the raft. Kinoshita seemed to think so too, and pointedly looked away as he helped Ukai keep the blue-tinted appendage propped up. Tsukishima understood why he used a tourniquet. He was going to bleed out otherwise and it looked like the glass had been deep enough to sever some pretty important stuff anyways. Kei doubted that if Ukai somehow kept all of his leg by some miracle, he wouldn’t be able to even walk on it again without some serious surgery. Even then, the possibility of Ukai being able to walk on it again was slim. 

“It’s getting dark.” Kageyama commented from somewhere around their feet. The setter had given him an emergency blanket that he had been wrapped in, and in return Tsukishima stared at Kageyama until the other looked away uncomfortable. 

“Yeah! It’s getting pretty late!” Hinata agreed. They both had a point. Without electricity the gym was becoming dimmer as the sun set. 

“When should we start using the phone flashlights?” Kiyoko asked, looking at Takeda. 

“When it gets too dark to see, we’ll start using the flashlights and signaling.” His voice rumbled against Tsukishima’s back. “You and Daichi are in charge of signaling from the door that leads to the roof. Can you do that for me?” Kiyoko and Daichi agreed wordlessly. Yachi had to eventually hang up on the emergency operator so she would have phone battery to call back and moved to lay next to Kiyoko. They were on the outside of the circle and were tasked with keeping an eye on the water level. 

“It’s already eight…” Yachi muttered, checking her phone with a sigh. Two more hours. That seemed like a long time. 

“That’s so long.” Ukai grumbled without opening his eyes. Tsukishima could vouch for Ukai and say that a large dose of pain medication would be appreciated, and two more hours waiting on it was ridiculous. 

“Just a little more, guys! We’re so close to going home, we just have to wait a little longer.” Takeda frantically assured. Tsukishima couldn’t tell who he was talking to more, himself or them. No one said anything else for a while, so he assumed it was aimed at everyone. Yamaguchi had a firm hold on his hand that was almost finger crushing. He wiggled his fingers and Yamaguchi let go and gripped his pant leg instead. That was the closest he would get to making Yamaguchi let go of him. Ukai had also moved his hand and released his shirt from captivity. As an alternative, he insisted on being directly beside of him, which meant when Ukai fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, he was snoring right in Tsukishima’s ear.

It was getting harder to breathe again. Takeda shuffled and propped him up more as he tried to stop coughing. It didn’t help, and he continued to cough until he couldn’t inhale and his stomach turned from how much it hurt. The ever-present black around his vision grew as it continued. Eventually, it eased enough for him to get a little air down. He leaned to the side, unable to move his heavy body. Ennoshita caught him before he could topple over and his arm lightly scraped against Tsukishima’s chest in the process. He swallowed the bile rising in his throat and bit his lip to stop any noise from coming out. 

“He’s overheating.” Someone called and his borrowed sweatshirt was stripped off of him revealing his skin to the cold air. He shivered from the loss of warmth as everyone moved away from him except for those helping hold him and Yamaguchi. Even Ukai had shifted to give Takeda space to hover around him. Someone let out a pained noise. 

“You’re so bruised.” Ennoshita gasped. When they changed and got dry, most of the team turned away to give them privacy so they were probably surprised. Molten purple and blue covered the top of his chest. Swelling offset the spot where a rib looked like it wanted to bust out of his skin and Tsukishima as sure there were more ribs broken and cracked besides that one. 

“Oh god.” Ukai breathed looking sick. His face went paler (if possible) and he bit into his hand to stifle a startled noise. The swelling and out of place rib must have been new. When Takeda and Yamaguchi had helped him change, there was just bruising and a slight lump where the rib would soon push closer to the surface of his skin. It probably came closer to busting out when he was moving around and changing. 

“Call emergency services back.” Takeda ordered, sweat beading down his face. “Tsukishima and Ukai need a doctor now.” Yachi automatically obeyed. 

“Do you want us to start using the flashlights?” Daichi stood up and moved to stand near them. 

“Please.” Takeda sounded strangled as Kiyoko and Daichi pulled out their phones and rushed to the roof door. Yamaguchi had a fistful of fabric in his hands and Kei could almost hear him grinding his teeth. Tsukishima couldn’t say anything to sooth him, and if he did it wouldn’t be that reassuring. Instead, when the coughing subsided he pulled a disgusted face when Yamaguchi looked at him. Seeming to get the frustrated and gross feeling he was trying to get across, Yamaguchi’s grip slightly slackened.

“They’re on their way—” Yachi looked between Ukai and Tsukishima. “--but they don’t know when the rescue team will get here.” Her eyes watered and Tsukishima felt a bit angry that she had to deal with this. They all should be home and not freezing their asses off in a high school gym. Tsukishima bet they were all starving too, if they weren’t about to puke from their weak nerves. Another jolt of pain went through him as Takeda slightly shifted. In general, he was pissy about the situation as a whole. What kind of weatherman fucked up their job so much that they had mistaken enough rain for a flash flood for a slight drizzle? He especially hated being treated like a child. He was still present and listening even though his body wasn’t cooperating. If he could call them out, Tsukishima had a feeling he would have a lot to complain about. 

This was shit. And Tsukishima was tired of waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you want to toss headcanons around or something, you can find me at http://pizza-steam-hal.tumblr.com/ :)


	7. And I’ll look left and right sometimes (Ukai, Unknown)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAHHHHH!!! I'm so sorry I didn't update last week! ;-; 
> 
> Thanksgiving break and the start of Power Outage season (one power outage and two instances of light flickering. What a good start.) threw me off, but I'm back! Again, so sorry for the wait!

Ukai groaned as another sharp pain shot down his legs. His left leg was actually less of an issue than his right. Below his knee remained blissfully (and worryingly) numb and the pain stopped where the tourniquet began. His right leg, however, ached like hell. He could almost feel every individual cut slowly becoming infected. Takeda had tried his best to keep the wounds clean and sanitized, but there was so much he could do. Ukai lulled his head to the side to look for Takeda. It was a bit hard to see though the growing darkness, but Ukai could tell Takeda had moved again and made Azumane keep Tsukishima still and upright after they discovered the protruding rib. Takeda himself was on the phone with emergency services again in a low frantic tone. 

“Are you okay coach?” Kinoshita asked, peering from where he kept Ukai’s leg elevated. 

“M’good. Tsukishima still holding up?” Ukai slurred, “He still awake?” 

“Yeah,” Kinoshita looked over with a wince, “But he’s hurting pretty bad.” Ukai grunted. The ribs were his fault. He probably did something wrong. 

“Kid, you hanging in there?” Ukai tapped Tsukishima’s leg to get his attention. His eyes snapped open and met Ukai’s. His face was twisted into a grimace and he jerked his head up in a sharp nod. Tsukishima’s gaze wandered down to Ukai’s leg and he could almost hear the cogs in Tsukishima’s head turning rapidly. Tsukishima’s gaze reminded his of a scanner of sy-fi shows he sometimes watched with Takeda; like, his eyes could peer into your mind and pick it apart. Ukai wondered if Tsukishima was actual a mind reading alien. That would make sense, but then again, maybe it was the blood loss and pain thinking for him. 

“But they’re both in terrible condition! Our student has a protruding rib and our coach’s leg is literally almost black! I’m begging you, please find a way to hurry their rescue. They need a hospital.” Takeda looked at Ukai desperately. The teacher looked like he was about to cry and a little waver had worked its way into his voice. Takeda was doing his absolute best and if anyone said otherwise, they’d be lying. He’d kept them all warm and safe in a terrible situation and done everything he could possibly think to do. Ukai gave Takeda a small reassuring smile and the teacher cleared his throat, continuing to speak but in a steadier voice. 

“We’re running low on charge,” Daichi jogged back to the rest of them with his phone. “Does anyone have a phone with a flashlight on it?” A couple of the other kids handed Daichi their phone and he ran back to the roof entrance door with a happy exclamation. Noya trailed after him shouting about them needing a messenger. Most likely, the silence was getting to him. Other than Takeda talking on the phone and the sound of the water below them, there was no other noise. 

“They should arrive within the hour.” Takeda put down the cellphone with a look of urgency. Murmurs of approval broke out before the silence continued on. Occasionally, Tsukishima would cough or someone would shuffle around. A strange feeling washed over Ukai. 

“Hey, something…. something’s not right.” His stomached churned violently and his hands felt clammy. Takeda rushed to him and nervously waved his hands over Ukai, not knowing what to do. The world spun around and around like he was on a merry-go-round. 

“Oh fuck, I'm going to be sick.” He found himself on his side suddenly. The quick movement was the last straw and he gagged. Nothing came up. Ukai groaned and let his eyes flutter shut. 

“Please be okay.” A whisper tickled his ears as everything continued to spin. 

“M’ trying.” He whined, gritting his teeth. 

“And that’s all I can ask for right now.” Takeda said as he ran a hand through Ukai’s hair comfortingly. “They’ll be here soon. You and Tsukishima just need to hang on for a little bit longer.” 

“I’m going to puke.” Ukai hissed curling into himself. Kinoshita gagged sympathetically as Ukai vomited onto a blanket placed on the floor in front of him. Takeda must have put it there to catch his vomit. He mused to himself that Takeda must think of everything and seems pretty well prepared. 

“Let’s strip you down some too.” Takeda said softly, feeling of Ukai’s forehead. “You’re pretty hot.” 

“Thanks sensei,” Ukai commented with a dry tone. Takeda gave him a look as the kids sniggered. The blankets were stripped off of him and the cold air bit into his exposed skin. Noya ran to them and smiled giddily. 

“We think we see a light!” He bounced on his heels. “Kiyoko and Daichi are signaling like crazy and want to know if we can step out on the roof. Can we?” 

“Be careful. If it starts to rain, come back inside.” Takeda deflated with relief. “Let us know as soon as you find out what the light is.” 

Ukai felt sick as a dog, but at least rescue was on its way. 

 

________

 

 

“Sir, please! There are children’s lives at sake!” They begged, gripping their now silent earpiece. 

“I know Takahashi! You keep reminding us, but we have other people that need to be rescued! Nursing homes, old folks, families, schools. We can’t just drop everything.”

“But there are fourteen children stuck in there. Sixteen people total, and two of them are severely injured! At least have a boat in the area swing by to bring them to a hospital.” They stood from their chair and frowned at their boss. 

“I’m sorry. It’s just not possible right now.” The man flipped through his clipboard. “We have so many people we need to get to and not enough resources.” 

“What national aid? I there anyone on their way?” Takahashi asked, now desperate. Their boss shook his head sadly. 

“Nothing yet. Just what we have in the area.” He picked up his cellphone. “Look, I’ll call in a favor with some of the local fishermen and see if anyone can get out there to check up on them. Don’t think we’re not abandoning them.” 

“I know, I know.” They signed and rubbed their face nervously. “It’s just stressful to think they’re still out there after talking to them for hours. The girl who got ahold of me is only a first year in high school. She was so terrified, and her teacher didn’t sound very calm either. I wouldn’t be if I had two people in that shape on my hands.” 

“How bad were the to? A student and a coach, right?” Their boss flipped through the papers of information Takahashi had started to collect. 

“Yeah, the kid has broken ribs. Last time they called one had started to protrude and they were pretty freaked out. Who wouldn't be? Anyways, the coach has a tight tourniquet to keep him from bleeding from a lodged glass shard in his leg. It’s pretty much a lost limb, and he’s lost a lot of blood from what I’ve been told.” They eyed their call button worriedly. 

“What did they do to get in that sort of situation?” Their boss opened his contact book and looked up several names. 

“They were drifting on some debris for a couple hours in the water. They probably will develop hypothermia, or already have. We need to make sure whatever hospital they get sent to can deal with their injuries.” 

“I’ve never herd you talk so much. Remember Takahashi, it’s our job to get them help not—“

“—to get attached. I know. They’re just in a hard situation and I want to help. There are kids there, Sir. How could I not want to help?” 

“I’ll make some calls to get something arranged for your group. Try and get something arranged for the people stuck on roofs.” 

“Thank you, sir! I’ll take care of it!” Takahashi turned on their mic and pulled up their available resources. 

“Yeah, yeah. Get to work.” Their boss smiled tightly and began to dial the first number of many.


	8. But I’ll fall in line (Daichi)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dabs* here. take it.

Daichi stood out on the roof with Noya on his shoulders and wondered if it was a good idea to wobble around on a wet roof. Noya was light enough, so Daichi figured it wouldn’t be to difficult to pull off; the potential gain was too big to pass up. 

“Be careful.” Kiyoko called over to them. “We wouldn’t want anyone else hurt.” 

“Did you hear that?” Noya swooned from above him. “Kiyoko cares about us!” Daichi rolled his eyes and sighed. Noya insisted on following them to the roof and was being quite helpful, but with him, the dramatics never stopped. 

“Are you still signaling?” Daichi asked sternly, “I really hope you’re still signaling.” 

“Yes! I am!” Noya leaned forwards causing Daichi to wobble a little. “But I don’t know if they can see it.” That would be a problem if they couldn’t bet spotted. Yachi and Takeda-sensei had repeatedly given the operator instructions on where to find them, but if the rescue teams couldn’t correctly follow their instructions, Ukai and Tsukishima were in deep trouble. The rest of them could wait until the next day and could even stay longer if they were brought supplies, but Daichi feared the worst if the pair of them didn’t get treated soon. 

“Step a little bit closer to the ledge,” Noya ordered. “I think they’ve spotted us.” Daichi complied and looked to where the lights in the distance began to move closer. Soon they could hear the low hum of a boat motor. 

“Run and get Takeda.” Daichi slipped Noya off his shoulders and took the phone back. “Tell him that there’s a boat that sees us.” Noya saluted and barreled down the stairs. God, Daichi hoped he didn’t kill himself running around like that. 

“Daichi?” Kiyoko called quietly from being him, “I need help getting down.” Daichi turned questioningly and soon realized what she had done. Kiyoko had found a ladder and managed to climb on top of the top of the staircase roof. The ladder had somehow slipped to the floor without them hearing it and she perched on top of it shakily, and signaled out. They must have seen her and not him and Noya. Daichi picked up the ladder and helped Kiyoko down. They moved to the side of the roof and continued to signal to the boat as it got closer and closer. Takeda and Noya joined them as they watched the boat pull against the side of the building. 

“Hey! Anyone up there?!” A voice called. Noya whooped and Daichi had to stop himself from dancing around the roof in excitement. 

“Yes! Please, we have to people who need a hospital inside of the gym!” Takeda shouted back, “We need help!” 

“We’ll try to find a way in the gym! Sit tight! If you can get them close to the water, that would be really helpful!” The man on the boat turned the motor back on. “We’re not first responders but we can get them to the hospital!” 

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Takeda leaned over the railing and beamed at the men in the boat below them. 

“No problem!” The men moved around the side of the building and the four of them returned inside. 

“Everyone! We have to get Ukai and Tsukishima as close to the water as we can, so we can get them onto the boat.” Takeda clapped his hands and smiled widely. Cheers rang out and Ukai let out a weak sigh of relief. 

“Please tell me they have painkillers.” Ukai grumbled, attempting to sit up on his own. Takeda put a hand on Ukai’s bck and helped the younger prop himself up. 

“They’re not first responders, but they are going to take you to a hospital.” Ukai nodded and swayed under Takeda’s hands. Daichi moved to help steady him. 

“Daichi, can you and Tanaka manage to carry him?” Takeda asked, “I’m not strong enough to lift him.” A troubled look fell on Takeda’s face like a sudden realization hit him. Takeda bit his lip and looked down at Ukai sadly. 

“Don’t worry sensei. We have him.” Daichi firmly nodded and motioned Tanaka over. The two of them got on both of Ukai’s side and with their arms under his back and knees, slowly moved him to the staircase to the lower levels. With each step, Ukai let out a small stifled groan and winced. Tanaka looked at Daichi each time, almost paniced at each little sound Ukai made, but they couldn’t stop. They had to make it to where the boat could pick him up. Finally, they eased him down and propped him against the wall next to the stairway. 

“Tanaka, I need you to keep him upright until we can help get Tsukishima over here. Do you need me to send anyone to sit with you two?” 

“We’ll be fine.” Tanaka grunted and slid next to Ukai. “Go get our Kouhai.” Tanaka turned to Ukai and away from Daichi, as if saying the discussion was over. Daichi hurried back to where they were trying to get Tsukishima up. 

“If you can stand him up, we can walk him over there. That won’t put any pressure on his ribs! But, he can’t walk on his own right now can he?” Takeda fought with himself, trying to find a solution. Tsukishima gave Yamaguchi a sour look. Before anyone could protest, Tsukishima had moved and was kneeling unsteadily. His breathing came out in sharp gasps and Asahi rushed to support him. Yamaguchi looked at him angrily but Tsukishima didn’t seem bothered. Slowly with Asahi’s help, Tsukishima stood. He stayed hunched into himself, but he was standing which seemed like a victory in itself. Tsukishima gave them all a smirk. 

“Well, that settles that.” Ennoshita commented, summing up the situation. Daichi moved to Tsukishima’s other side and Tsukishima slung an arm around him. The first year was shaking and pale, but looked very satisfied with himself. They stood still for a moment before Tsukishima took a tentative step. Most of his weight feel on Daichi as Tsukishima’s legs buckled. 

“We got you,” Daichi assured him as Tsukishima’s breathing hitched in pain, “Just keep walking.” He took another step and Asahi shifted to where they were both carrying Tsukishima’s weight evenly. This time, Tsukishima didn’t buckle as bad. They made it a couple meters before they had to stop for a couple minutes. By that time, the two men in the boat had somehow managed to pull the boat into the gym and were loading Ukai into the boat carefully. 

“Do you need us to carry you?” Asahi asked Tsukishima in a low voice, “If you don’t think you can walk anymore, let us know. It’s no big deal.” Tsukishima’s face was paler than before and beads of sweat dripped off of him. His breaths came in short, wheezy bursts and remained curled into himself. After a while, Tsukishima shook his head and took another step. By the time they made it to the boat, Tsukishima was nearly limp and they were practically carrying him. They lifted him over the side of the boat to the men and they laid him down next to Ukai gently. 

“Is anyone going with them?” One of the men asked, prepping the engine. 

“I need one of you to go with them.” Takeda said, looking at the team. “I have to stay here with everyone, but they need to have someone to go with them.” 

“I’ll do it,” Kiyoko stepped forwards, clutching her things. “Just give me their emergency information we have on hand.” Takeda’s eyes welled up witth tears as he thanked the manager. She smiled nervously as she was handed the papers and hopped in the boat. 

“Please take care of them!” Yamaguchi called to Kiyoko. Kiyoko gave him a stiff nod, and a look of determination. The boat started and they rushed to the roof to watch the boat lights disappear into the distance. 

“They’ll be okay. She’ll take care of them.” Tanaka firmly decided, walking back inside. Noya agreed and followed after. They all tricked back inside until it was just Takeda was outside, looking off into the blackness. When he returned, he looked more relaxed than before. 

“They should bring us supplies in the morning if they can’t get a boat out to transport us. Until them, we need to continue to have the wonderful behavior you all have had so far. I’m so proud of you all.” Takeda ruffled everyone’s hair and beamed at them. Yachi and Hinata beamed back with watery eyes and they all puffed with pride. Yamaguchi even smiled a little before looking back out the broken window anxiously. 

Daichi could only hope things went well with Tsukishima and Ukai, but he knew their managers was the best of the best, and she would do everything she could to ensure they were alright.


	9. No One Looks Up Anymore (Shimizu)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I'M BACK. 
> 
> I kept getting sick and had exams and ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh D:  
> Still that's no excuse, and I'll do my best to keep this on schedule from now on!!! 
> 
> And as always, thank you to all of you who leave me comments! I love criticism and never take any offence to suggestions and correction!

The boat ride to dry land was mostly uneventful, and Shimizu signed in relief when they pulled up to a dock with two ambulances parked side by side. The kind men in the boats helped Tsukishima gain his footing and walked him off to the boat despite having to partially carry him to the stretcher awaiting him. Tsukishima didn’t complain, as the slight tilt of his head and gazed look let her know he was out of it. She helped Ukai sit up and hobble off the boat as they situated Tsukishima. The coach let out a sigh as he flopped onto the stretcher. 

“Can you give us any pain medicine?” Ukai asked tugging the ambulance worker’s sleeve. The woman jumped at the sudden yank and calmly replied that only the hospital could administer pain medication. “Well shit, let’s go then. Shimizu, get in with Tsukishima. Make sure he’s nice to the people fixing him up.” She assured him she would make sure everything went smoothly and clambered into the back of Tsukishima’s ambulance.

“We need you to give us some information on him where he’s unresponsive.” The man taking Tsukishima’s vitals handed her a paper. “If you don’t know something, that’s okay. We just need to know his age and name. Common stuff, you know?” Shimizu nodded and began filling the paper out while keeping a sharp eye on what the EMTs were doing. They were trying to get an IV in Tsukishima’s arm with little success. The man who gave her the paper spoke softly to Tsukishima as if he was lucid. They eventually got an IV into the crook of his arm and all kinds of monitors strapped to him. They arrived at the hospital in record time and she railed behind the gaggle of nurses rushing her charges into the emergency room.

“Please stay out here.” A nurse stood in front of her before she could follow them into the back where they would treat them. And with that, she was seated in the waiting room, biting her nails and trying to get a call to the Karasuno gym and Tsukishima’s family from a payphone. Back in the gym, Takeda-sensei had pressed a list of Tsukishima’s emergency contacts into her hand along with some lose change. The first call was to the first emergency number. The line was dead. The second number rang many times before an office answer machine picked up. Shimizu left a message and tried the third number.

“Hello?” A young man answered, his voice high and frantic.

“Are you an emergency contact of Tsukishima Kei?” Shimizu listened as papers frantically rustled and voices filtered through the phone. The chaos subsided and the man asked for her to repeat what she said.

“Yes, yes! Is he okay?”

“He’s currently being evaluated at the hospital. They haven’t told me anything, but I do know he had broken ribs and a concussion.”

“I’ll be there momentarily. Where is he?” The man at the end of the line hung up after Shimizu gave him the name of the hospital, and momentarily wondered who he was. Tsukishima’s father? Too young. Uncle, maybe? She assumed she would find out soon. She made her last call to Yachi’s cellphone.

“Shimizu! Are they okay? Did you make it? What’s happening?” The younger girl anxiously asked, and Shimizu could almost see the panicked expression Yachi must have had.

“They made it without a hitch. They made me stay in the waiting room, but I’ll call back as soon as I know something.”

They talked for a while discussing what would happen next. After a while, Yachi had to hang up to keep her phone battery from dying too soon, and Shimizu was left to pace the floor and wait for Tsukishima’s relative. A half hour passed before a panic-stricken blond man stepped into the waiting room.

“Are you the one who called me about Kei?” His eyes burned with question.

“Yes. There’s no news on his condition yet though.” She couldn’t look directly at his disappointed face.

“Please. Tell me what happened.” He begged, sitting next to her. “I need to know. He’s my little brother.” She couldn’t say no to his wavering voice and teary eyes. She told him all she knew and by the end of her recap, he was openly horrified. He didn’t say anything more and the silence became consuming. Eventually he shakily pulled out his phone.

“The rest of the students and Takeda are alright though?” He looked at her for confirmation.

“They’re all okay, just shaken and cold.” She recalled the lose huddle they had formed to conserve warmth alongside Tanaka and Noya’s attempt to crawl under the second blanket someone gave to Kageyama after he had given his to Tsukishima. Kageyama had become a beautiful blanket chrysalis to avoid sharing much to the second years’ chagrin.

“That’s good. That’s really good. The families of all the kids stuck in the gym are at the Hinata household up on the mountain.” He sent out several texts. “We’ve been waiting to hear some good news. Most of the town is underwater and this is the only hospital open around for miles.”

“What’s still above water level?” Shimizu paled thinking of her family stuck on a roof or worse. Her grandmother was too old to swim and her father was to stubborn to let his mother drown without a fight.

“It’s flooded mostly on the east side all the way to two towns over. The west side is mostly above water level where it’s part of the mountains, so it’s mostly just around the creeks and river that’s flooded.” The man looked back to his phone and Shimizu felt guilty at the amount of relief she felt. Thankfully, she lived on the west side but what about everyone who wasn’t that lucky? All those people, people she knew, people she didn’t, an entire area, underwater and in a dangerous situation. Even the majority of her volleyball team was stuck in the situation. She couldn’t not feel a weight off her shoulders despite that.

“Ukai Keshin?”, a woman called with from the door, holding a clipboard. Shimizu stood up expectantly, praying for the best. “We’re taking him into surgery to amputate the dead leg. He should recover from the infection if everything goes well, despite being septic.” Shimizu didn’t know what was worse, him losing the leg or keeping it and dealing with the infection. It was dangerous to play with time being while being septic, but the thought of Coach Ukai no longer standing tall on the court was a very disturbing thought. The nurse turned to leave but the elder Tsukishima called out.

“Do you have any news on a Tsukishima Kei?” Shimizu held her breath as the women rustled through her papers.

“He’s still being stabilized and they’re currently running more tests. When they do that we’ll have to contact his legal guardians to talk about current treatment options.”

“I’m his older brother and one of his emergency contacts. Our parents are stuck at our house in the second floor and won’t be able to get out.” He stepped forwards with a set jaw and quivering lip. “I’m his only available guardian at the moment.”

“I’ll come get you when they know anything.” She hustled off and Tsukishima collapsed into a chair. He looked up to Shimizu as if he’s been shocked.

“I am so sorry. How rude of me. I’m almost crying on you and I haven’t even introduced myself. I’m Tsukishima Akiteru.”

“Shimizu Kiyoko. It’s nice to meet you.” She walked back to the payphone, her mouth in a thin line. Her hands shook as she dialed Yachi’s cellphone. “Yachi? May I speak to Takeda-Sensei?” The phone exchanged hands and Takeda answered eagerly.

“How are they?”, he all but demanded.

“Ukai’s leg has to be amputated and he’s gone septic but they said he’ll recover from the infection. No news on Tsukishima yet.” Shimizu rolled the phone cable between her fingers nervously. “I managed to contact Tsukishima’s brother and he’s at the hospital with me.”

“That’s-That’s about expected… But, that is good news about the coach’s chance of recovery. Thank you. Please let us know when you hear something about Tsukishima please.” Voices rang in the background calling out various questions and concerns. “I’ll let the boys know, they’re starting to get antsy. Thank you again!” She ended the call and sat back down. The wait continued, only broken up by phone calls out to Yachi to occasionally check in. She even got a call out to her parents who made her promise to call every hour until morning came and they could drive to the hospital safely. Most of the wait though was in an uncomfortable waiting room chair next to the frazzled Tsukishima brother. 

“Relative of Tsukishima Kei?”, a doctor poked his head in the door. 

“That’s me.” The brother followed to doctor and they spoke in hushed tones outside the door. Kiyoko couldn’t catch a word of what they were saying, but the expression on dread on Tsukishima’s face said it all. When he eventually returned to his seat, his face was ashen. 

“He’s stable, but they’re going to have to put pins in two of his ribs and the one that was protruding didn’t hit any organs thankfully. They’re taking him into surgery now.” His voice was soft and soaked in pain. “He has pneumonia on top of that and some sort of infection from the dirty water.” 

“But is he going to be okay?”

“Yeah. He’ll be okay. He’s got a rough road ahead of him though.” Tsukishima sighed. “But he’s alive and going to recover fully which honestly, is a huge blessing.”   
Kiyoko nodded and relayed the message onwards to Takeda. A riot of happy cries from the other end of the phone made her ears ring, but it was worth it. They were all going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUN FACT: When my dad shattered his elbow (into like 27 pieces) at work once, the men trained as EMTs on their job-site were very useless in the situation and my dad literally had to do everything himself and even walked himself to the ambulance after falling from a height of several feet. When the lady in the ambulance swung open the door, she was kind of startled by my dad, who was standing right in front of her. He hopped in and asked her "Can you give me anything for pain?" and when she said no he laid down and told her he was ready to go to the hospital. 
> 
> That's where i got Ukai's line about the pain medicine from.


	10. ‘Cause you might get a raindrop in your eye (Ukai)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW CHAPTER 10 ALREADY? HECk.
> 
> Hope you all like it!

When Ukai woke up, the smell of disinfectant and piss assaulted him. He blinked past the bright lights to find himself staring up at a hospital ceiling, his entire boy feeling numb and loose. 

“Coach?” A small voice came from the side. Ukai grunted and turned to look at Shimizu. The world spun and his lips were chapped. He tried to sit up. He needed to see if everyone else was okay. He briefly remembered Tsukishima being hurt and the rest of the team being cold. Shimizu lightly pushed him down and pressed the call button. A nurse burst in and started asking him questions, but all he could hear was every other word. Finally, the nurse left and Ukai looked back at Shimizu. 

“’’sukishima?”, he felt his eyes getting heavy. He had to find out if the kid was okay before he conked out again.

“He’s okay. Please, get some sleep.” 

“Where ‘s he?” Shimizu pulled the covers further up on his body and before she could reply, he was out. 

When he woke up again, his mind was clearer. Shimizu sat in a chair next to his bed, flipping through a magazine. To his right, they had a curtain pulled around the other bed but he could hear faint sniffing coming from behind it. Shimizu noticed he was awake and gave him a wry smile. 

“Glad to see you’re awake and lucid, sir.” She put down the magazine. “You were a bit out of it.” 

“Out of it?” He shuffled around, noting the numbness in his leg. “What happened?” Shimizu stiffened. 

“You had surgery. On your leg. I’m so sorry sir.” She teared up and covered her mouth with her hand. Ukai looked down. His leg? His injured leg wasn’t just numb, in fact, it wasn’t there at all. He gaped and looked at the empty spot. From the knee down was missing. Ukai looked up to the ceiling. Maybe it was a prank? He pulled the covers back with a shaky hand. The only thing there was empty space and gauze pressed against the stump of what was his knee. His breath hitched and he laid back completely dumbfounded. 

“Sir?” Shimizu looked at him with apprehension. He would be okay for now if he didn’t even think about it. He turned his thoughts to more pressing matters. 

“Tsukishima. Is he okay?” Shimizu walked to the curtain separating the room, and pulled it back. Tsukishima looked younger, smaller even under all the tubes and without his glasses. Bandages wrapped around his head and Ukai could bet anything that there was more on his chest. 

“You made a fuss until they moved him in here with you… I don’t think you were actually coherent for that.” Shimizu informed him. He noticed a man with blond hair, probably a relative, clutching one of Tsukishima’s hands tightly as if the boy would float off under his hands. A tube was shoved down the kid’s throat and Ukai winced sympathetically. 

“He’s going to be okay. They had to pin his rib and he has a couple nasty infections but he should be okay.” Shimizu gave him reassuring nod. “This is his older brother, Tsukishima Akiteru.” The young man looked up and Ukai could see the resemblance. He gave Ukai a small nod.

“Thank you. You saved my brother’s life.” Tsukishima the elder’s voice wavered, but he managed a smile. “They said if you hadn’t had gave him CPR correctly, he wouldn’t have made it, so thank you so much. We owe you.” 

“’s my job.” Ukai winced as Tsukishima Kei’s breath painfully hitched and face momentarily scrunch. Tsukishima Akiteru tearfully giggled and rubbed his brother’s hand soothingly. 

“It’s like he can tell we’re talking about him.” Shimizu giggled with him and soon Ukai managed a few rumbling laughs. Ukai’s sense of reality blurred, and suddenly it was morning. A man stood with Shimizu as she nervously twittered around the room, talking with Tsukishima Akiteru in quiet tones. 

“Yes, I’ll call when he wakes up. I’ll be here until Kei gets out, so no need to worry about him being alone.” Tsukishima Akiteru waved his hands calmingly. Shimizu took a deep breath and turned to Ukai. 

“Oh!” She blinked at him. “You’re awake again!” He nodded tiredly. The man behind her looked at Ukai critically. 

“Any news?” 

“Yes! The waters went down enough to send out search parties! They’re on their way to Karasuno now.” Shimizu fixed Ukai’s covers and moved to fix Tsukishima’s. Finally running out of things to do, Shimizu said her goodbye’s and left with the man hovering over her. 

“They’re supposed to transport all of the people stuck in the gym to the hospital. I would expect company until their parents can get to them.” Tsukishima said, fixing his brothers covers back to how they previously were. Ukai nodded and looked outside. The skies were still grey, but the sun peaked out like a beacon. Hours of unexpected naps passed until the door creaking open awoke him. Takeda poked his head in. 

“Sensei.”, Ukai greeted. “How’s the kids?” Takeda beamed at him, but his face fell when he saw the lack of leg on one side. Takeda inched in and corralled the rest of the group with hushed whispered. Only six of the boys remained, the rest home already. Yamaguchi all but flew to Tsukishima’s bedside, talking to the brother animatedly. The rest of the boys paled and shuffled awkwardly in the edges of the room, a little afraid to get closer. Takeda sat in the chair beside him and took his hand. 

“Everyone’s safe. The rest of the kids are with their families. I’m looking after the rest of them until they can contact their parents.” Takeda motioned for the boys to step closer. Hinata clung onto the hem of Asahi’s shirt, and tugged the older boy with him to stand at the foot of the bed. Hinata’s eyes were calculating and just a little blank as he looked Ukai up and down. Kinnoshita stepped forwards and put a hand on Hinata’s shoulder to break him out of his focus. Tanaka moved to Tsukishima’s bedside, with Nishinoya close behind, perching beside the boy as if they were taking up guard. 

“When is Tsukishima going to wake up?” Asahi asked in a small voice, looking between Ukai and his kouhai with worry. 

“The doctor said he should be awake any time. He woke up once last night but he was pretty disorientated.”, Tsukishima’s brother smiled assuring. “Kei’s stubborn. He’ll be alright.” 

With that, they all seemed to relax and spread across the room. Some of them even feel asleep, Hinata most notably as he had curled up on the floor with his head resting on the side of Ukai’s bed. Ukai chucked one of his pillows at the red-head, who groggily curled around it. It was almost noon before movement came from Tsukishima’s bed. A chocked noise came from the boy as he struggled to remain calm about a tube shoved down his throat. Yamaguchi ran to get a nurse while his brother spoke to him calmly, telling him about the tubeand that he would be okay. That seemed to help and by the time Yamaguchi returned, Tsukishima was more collected. They quickly removed the tube, and sat Tsukishima up to where he could breathe on his own. When the nurse left, the other boys flocked around their teammate. 

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi hovered over Tsukishima anxiously. The blond grunted and looked around. His eyes lingered on each of them a couple seconds before stopping on Ukai. 

“You already have a leg up over me on recovering kid.” Ukai stated, waiting to see how everyone would react of the morbidity of his statement. Takeda choked on air and the rest of the room’s occupants seemed to freeze. Tsukishima let out a small wheeze and his face split into a pained grin. It took a minute for everyone to realize Tsukishima was laughing and not dying. When the boy finally calmed down, Akiteru was wiping tears off Kei’s cheeks. With drugs still in his system, and a light feeling in the air, Tsukishima let out a shake breath and melted into the bed. They watched him until his eyes fluttered back shut and the nurse came back in to check the equipment attached to him. 

They were going to be alright, Ukai thought, as he drifted to sleep listening to the babble of excited whispers and ignoring the empty spot on the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm planning on two more chapters (a finale to show the effects of and conclude the flooding and an epilogue) but whO KNOWS


	11. And Heaven Forbid They See You Cry (Tsukishima)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no proofreading, we die like men. 
> 
> Anyway, here's the sap. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> One more to go pals! This has been a pretty good ride and i can tell i'm more aware of how i quite and what i need to correct/work on/be more conscious of! Thank you for sticking around so long to see it this shitstorm this long; i really appreciate all of you and any commentary/suggestions/criticism you've offered me. Again, thank you!

Tsukishima opened his eyes and gave whoever entered the room a cross look. He had just fallen asleep after hours of waiting for them to give him his pain medication again. His visitors didn’t look too put off, and the trio entered the room with Asahi trailing behind, his arms loaded down with stuffed animals. Asahi carefully placed his load in the chair and tied the mass of balloons floating behind him to a chair.

“Since they’re only letting only so many visitors in at a time, everyone gave their gifts to us to show you first.”, Daichi explained, sitting at the end of the bed. Tsukishima hummed in irritation and shakily put his glasses back on. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep. Where there was one volleyball club member, there were the rest right behind them.

“This one’s from us!” Suga picked up a small plush bear with Velcro hands and strapped it onto the IV stand. “And the little crow is from Takeda.”

“Sensei said he’d be by later to see you two. He has to move his things so they can dry the insulation in his house.” Asahi popped his fingers nervously, looking over to Ukai who hadn’t woken up when the they came in. The coach was on a pretty strong cocktail of pain medication and antibiotics, much more potent than Tsukishima’s.

“The rest of them are mostly from the second years. Yachi helped Hinata and Kageyama pick this out for you though!” Suga showed him a shark plush the size of his head. “They also got you an animal encyclopedia, but Hinata wanted to show you that later.” The three continued to bring him up to speed on what was happening. The water was still high, but no longer in the road. Almost all their teammates’ homes were damaged in the water, from Noya (who would have to move out of his house) to Kageyama (who only had the water get in his basement). Daichi and Asahi both were temporarily out of their homes while they cleaned up all the mud and filth that had destroyed most of their belongings. Suga was luckier, and only the flooring of his home was damaged.

Eventually they left and were replaced by the second years. Noya and Tanaka automatically wedged themselves at the end of the bed and explained why they decided to get Tsukishima fourteen balloons (one for each of their teammates, their managers, and Takeda). By the time the five of them left, a choked up Tanaka had to be drug away by an apologetic Ennoshita. Narita and Kinnoshita pointed out the mutated plush they found that they claimed reminded them of Tsukishima. He didn’t find it as funny as they did, but he was too tired to gripe about it. When the freak duo, Yachi and Kiyoko entered the room, Tsukishima just wanted it to be quiet.

“We brought you something.” Hinata sounded uncharacteristically quiet as he sat on the bed. The smaller boy wiggled in where he could show Tsukishima the book and avoid touching the other’s chest. Yachi hovered nervously, keeping an eye on Hinata, but the red-head spoke softly and moved with care. As Hinata continued on, he barely noticed the others sitting on the bed and his glasses being taken off. When he woke up again, his teammates were gone and his brother and mother were back.

The next day, Yamaguchi came in, his arms laden with magazines and old books he knew Kei liked. He could only get halfway through an article without dozing, but having his best friend (and boyfriend) with him to pass the day was a lot more tolerable than being left with his brother fussing over him. Ukai remained the same, constantly asleep and only speaking a couple words when dipped in and out of his fevered haze. Eventually as the day wore on, he became lucid again and was given some ice to chew on.

“What time is it?” Ukai blinked and looked around the room.

“It’s about 8 P.M.”, his mother warmly said. “You’ve been in and out since the day before yesterday!” Ukai looked at her strangely before laying back, his ice untouched. His mom didn’t seem upset by that (Kei’s usual behavior was similar) and she politely asked him if she could get him anything.

“No thank you, ma’am. I appreciate it though… You’re their mother?” Ukai gestured to Kei and Akiteru, an odd look on his face.

“Yes I am! You can probably tell they don’t get their height from me.” She moved to Ukai’s side of the room to hold the man’s hand. “Thank you for taking care of my son. Thank you.” Ukai nodded solemnly and Kei’s mother beamed.

“I’m sorry. For not doing more.” Ukai looked ashamed of himself and retracted his hand.

“From what I’ve heard, you saved his life.”, Tsukishima’s mother pointed out gently. Ukai shook his head his lips pressed tight. Kei let out a disgruntled sigh. There was room for only one “self-blaming asshole” and it was him (as Yamaguchi had pointed out on more than one occasion with a stern frown). “Yeah, and I bet you made it flood  
too.” Tsukishima croaked, sipping the lime soda the nurse gave him. 

“What?”, Ukai asked, his face clouded with doubt. Tsukishima made a face that screamed ‘you heard me’ back.

“Should I be blaming myself for not doing enough on that damned piece of wood to help you? No, but I am, which is stupid. It’s so idiotic for us to blame ourselves for something we had no control over, so it’s better just to accept what happened and move on.” By the time he was done talking, Tsukishima was slightly light-headed, but satisfied with the point he conveyed. A sniffle came from beside him.

“Tsukiiiiiii~!” Yamaguchi warbled, “You’re so cool.” The freckled boy curled up next to Kei on the bed, crooning about how proud he was. Akiteru looked even more delighted as he wiped away crocodile tears. Kei clicked his tongue in annoyance. It’s not like he made everything better with just a couple words. 

“He’s right Keishin.”, Takeda smiled and stepped into the room. Ukai didn’t respond but seemed less conflicted at that. The rest of the night was fairly uneventful until Ukai started to snore. Yamaguchi pulled out his phone and filmed their coach’s loud nasally grunts, shushing Kei when his giggling got too loud. Takeda put a finger to his lips to hush them, and pinched Ukai’s nose until the blond started to breath out of his mouth just as loudly. They lost their shit. Takeda more than anyone (Yamaguchi snorting up a storm and Tsukishima cradling his aching chest), laughing until tears streamed down his face. Ukai awoke abruptly, startled by the noise. Takeda tearfully explained why they were laughing which made everyone laugh harder, including Tsukishima’s mother who fell out of a chair as a result. 

“How I love you, you stupid man.” Takeda said fondly, pinching a pouting Ukai’s cheeks. “I wish you weren’t in here. I wish you weren’t hurt.” Ukai blushed heavily and looked at Takeda in awe. Akiteru closed the diving curtain on them, and looked at Kei awkwardly. 

“Yeah. The entire team.” Kei smirked at his brothers disbelieving look. 

“I thought you two were joking about that?” He claimed, looking between Yamaguchi and Kei.

“Practice gets uncomfortable with all the heart eyes.” Yamaguchi rolled his eyes, recalling all the times Hinata and Kageyama screamed at each other and suddenly quit when they realized their hands were touching (and subsequently blushed, exchanged a chaste kiss, and returned to practice). 

“Says you sappy kiss-stealer. I remember what you did” Tsukishima nudged his boyfiend in the side with a pout. 

“I was worried!” Yamaguchi exclaimed, with a frown. “You’re an ass denying me affection.”

“PDA is weird for everyone.” Kei said, recalling how Asahi had averted his eyes like he had been burned. 

“But I love you!” 

“You boys are so cute.” Kei’s mother interjected, giving them a shit-eating grin similar to Kei’s own. 

“Ugh.” Kei flopped his head back. “Wake me up when everyone’s less touchy.” Everyone was still pointedly ignoring how quiet it was on the other side of the curtain for a reason. 

Tsukishima knew wasn’t over yet, there was a lot to rebuild and work for in the coming months, but at least they had small moments like these still, with soft smiles and maybe even a hint of hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everything sappy thing i write is @ my bestfrog Nathan and i love him and just need to say how much i care for him??? like???? he's so cute and sweet and funny???? Run and tell dat because he's the best ever. ANYWAy enjoy! <3


	12. As We Fall in Line (Takeda) END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's over. Thank you so much for reading. I am so thankful for all of you who read this and am eternally #blessed by all the kudos and comments. Thank you. For everything. :) 
> 
> Please enjoy!

Takeda held onto Ukai wheelchair firmly, waiting for the kids to finish toting the younger man’s things out of his hospital room. Most of the boys were already at Ukai’s recently restored store setting up banners and plates of food for a ‘Welcome Home!’ party. That left Narita, Tanaka, and Tsukishima to help move things into Takeda’s car. Tanaka refused to let Tsukishima carry more than a couple stuffed animals and a pen, so the first year was mostly “supervising” by complaining for them to hurry up. Tsukishima had been out of the hospital for a couple days under the orders of a strict regimen of rest. 

“I’ve seen my mother lift more, Tanaka-san.” Tsukishima called from the passenger side of the car. 

“You shut your mouth!” Tanaka grouched, stuffing a couple bags of dirty clothes in the back. “Narita has the rest Sensei.” 

“This is the last of it. The nurses almost cried when she found out you two were released. She said something about the noise lately.” Narita gave side eyes to Tanaka, threw the last two plushies at him, and climbed into the backseat where Tsukishima had relocated. Takeda helped Ukai into the car while Tanaka put the wheelchair in the trunk and crawled into the backseat, hitting Narita roughly with a stuffed bear. 

“Ah, Oba-San wanted us to stop at the shop to get her knitting basket before you went to Takeda-sensei’s house.” Tsukishima said off handedly, peering at his phone. “She made a gift for you coach.” 

“You rotten kids have met my mother twice, stop calling her your Oba-San.” Ukai scolded, swatting at them from the front seat. 

“I’ve met Oba-San more than once, coach.” 

“Tsukishima.” 

“She’s even made me a sweater.” 

“Why didn’t we notice he’s a little shit Ittetsu? I liked him when he was kind of intimidated by us.” 

“That was before Oba-San told me all kinds of things while you were napping that one day.” Tsukishima yawned, hiding a smirk. 

“She told me all the badass things you did as a kid when I got meat buns one day, coach!” Tanaka clapped Tsukishima’s shoulder. “I’ll defend your honor!” 

“You’re all running laps. When you’re better Tsukishima, you’re running laps too.”, Ukai grumbled from the front seat. 

“I gave him my jello and this is how he repays me?” Tsukishima grumbled, as Tanaka and Narita sputtered. 

“Okay, okay. We’re here. Everyone out.” Takeda soothed, parking at the curb. “You too Keishin. Your mother left your present inside.” When they got in the store (it’s soggy drywall replaced and the floors degunked), the lights were flicked off leaving long shadows everywhere. Narita flicked on the lights and confetti rained down. 

“Welcome Back Coach!!!” Rang out and Takeda watched as Ukai’s eyes welled up with tears. 

“We missed you!” Hinata blubbered, plopping a party cap on Ukai’s head. 

“I- I missed you all too.” Ukai said, furiously blinking his watery eyes. “Thank you.” Someone handed him a slice of cake and Takeda guided them to the center of the mass where all the kids could talk to him. Yachi sat beside him on the floor and soon, the rest followed. 

“You kids…” Ukai actually did cry that time, looking at them with a soft look. “…you’re all so sweet.” 

“We were so worried about you, both of you, when you were missing. We were even more worried when we found you.” Takeda let out a humorless chuckle. “But now, you’re both here and alive and we couldn’t ask for anything more.” 

“Yeah. Not to be insensitive, but we don’t care if either of you come back to volleyball. Tsukishima’s still our friend and you’re still be our coach!” Hinata exclaimed. Everyone nodded in agreement and from the corner of his eye, he could see Tsukishima getting emotional too. 

“Dammit. You kids are definitely running laps for making me cry like this.” Ukai wiped his face and beamed at them. “You kids aren’t getting rid of me that easy. I’ll get a peg-leg before I leave you kids.” 

“And Tsukki won’t admit it, but he’d miss you all too much!” 

“Shut up Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima hissed, and Yamaguchi insincerely apologized. 

“They’d miss us.” Asahi sobbed, pining a fighting Tsukishima down with a soft hug. 

“Please mind my chest, Azumane-san.” A laughter filled argument broke out. 

“Hey, are they even going to be able to host clubs for the rest of the term? I mean, they basically have to reconstruct the inside of the gym.” Ukai asked, looking at Takeda with a grimace. 

“We don’t need to know yet. It doesn’t hurt to have hope though.”, he said, placing a hand on Ukai’s head. “If we can by the end of the year, you should be able to attend by then.” 

“Hmmm, yep. That’s as likely as us winning Nationals without a gym to practice in.” Ukai rolled his eyes. 

“Have a little faith in them Keishin. They’ll find a way” 

“Heh. Crows always do.” And they sat in the musky smelling store with shitty handmade party decorations and the worst cake Takeda had ever had, and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i *may* eventually rewrite this when i get better at writing but no promises. This was actually a good learning experience and I'm glad I stuck with it! Thanks for tolerating and teaching me you all. Honestly.

**Author's Note:**

> OKAy! So, if you find any mistakes or places you think the grammar/wording is awkward, please roast me. I want to get better at writing and one can only do that if they know what the hell to correct, so PLEASE and THANK YOU! I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
